(C) Verite News New Orleans This story was originally published by Verite News New Orleans and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Environmental group RISE St. James to host ‘State of Cancer Alley’ panel [1] ['Safura Syed', 'More Safura Syed', 'Verite News', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2024-06-17 Environmental activists and community leaders from St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes will host a virtual address on Wednesday (June 19) at 7 p.m. to provide updates on the fight against the construction of an industrial complex by the petrochemical company Formosa Plastics in St. James. St. James and St. John are in Cancer Alley, an area of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans where some communities are choked by air pollution from nearby petrochemical and other heavy industry facilities. There is more pollution in predominantly Black areas of the region, where residents are exposed to carcinogens that lead to the highest cancer risk in the state. A recent study found that levels of ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing pollutant, are nine times higher in Cancer Alley than previously estimated. “If these industries are poisoning us, they should not be not in our communities,” said Sharon Lavigne, president of RISE St. James, in an interview ahead of the panel. The “State of Cancer Alley” address will bring Lavigne together with Nancy Bui, the founder and vice president of Justice for Formosa Victims, Diane Wilson, an activist who has fought against Formosa in Texas and Robert Taylor, the president of Concerned Citizens of St. John Parish. The proposal for the construction of the petrochemical complex — dubbed the Sunshine Project — is a $9.4 billion endeavor, expected to create 1,200 permanent jobs. Whether or not these jobs will go to Black residents of St. James, however, is a different question. In Louisiana, most industry jobs are held by white workers, meaning that those most affected by pollution may not reap the economic benefits of the plant’s construction. In February, Gov. Jeff Landry also removed requirements for industrial projects to set hiring goals to receive tax incentives, which could lead to higher property taxes and reduced public funding in the parish. Taylor described the industry’s promises as “trickery.” “To me, it’s an insult to any human being to say, ‘Well, I’m sorry, your child is gonna have to die. Your cousin, your uncle, aunt is going to have to die so that John and his cousin can get a job,’” Taylor said. Taylor and Lavigne expressed frustration with Louisiana’s decisions in favor of the Sunshine Project. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality provided Formosa with air permits in 2020, a decision that was reversed in district court two years ago. An appellate court decision in January reversed the first ruling, granting Formosa air permits necessary for construction. RISE St. James is trying to appeal the reversal to Louisiana’s Supreme Court. Bui, of Justice for Formosa Victims, drew connections between the legal hurdles that activists in St. James face and the struggles of communities affected by Formosa Plastics in Taiwan and Vietnam. In 2016, a chemical spill from a Formosa steel plant in Vietnam caused the country’s worst environmental disaster, killing marine life and destabilizing the coastal export economy. According to Bui, such environmental catastrophes could happen in St. James if the Sunshine Project is realized. The Sunshine Project, she said, “is not going to be good for anybody.” “Formosa, wherever they go, they harm locals and violate human rights, not just the environment,” Bui said. “I can see that their attitude is the same in Louisiana…or in Point Comfort [in Texas] or in Vietnam.” The organizers of the upcoming Wednesday panel hope to bring victims and activists from across the world together for a conversation about the legal and environmental battle against the multibillion dollar petrochemical company. “It means that we’re unified, that we’re coming together to fight this monster,” Lavigne said. “And wherever you go, people will hear about our stories.” Related Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. [END] --- [1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2024/06/17/rise-st-james-cancer-alley-formosa-panel/ Published and (C) by Verite News New Orleans Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/veritenews/