A factory in Louisiana that was at the centre of a documentary linking its production to increased cancer rates, has indefinitely halted production, it has been reported.
The Big Sea, an award-winning documentary created by Chris Nelson, Lewis Arnold and Demi Taylor, casts a spotlight on a community in Louisiana – and its proximity to the Denka Performance Elastomer plant, a factory that produces neoprene – neoprene is used in the manufacturing of wetsuits. The rates of cancer in this community, due to terrible air quality, have been so high, it’s been dubbed cancer alley.
Laetitia Taylor grew up in St John the Baptist Parish where she is an activist and campaigner.
On Tuesday, the plant officially announced it had ceased all production, citing dire financial losses of up to $109 million. The firm said that during Joe Biden’s Presidency, regulations had become stricter, and had experienced a sustained global slowdown for a demand in its product.
Biden’s regulations campaigned for cleaner air, and introduced stricter governance over emissions. The Trump tenure has sought to undo these plans.
Note: the plant is more on a permanent hiatus, while a pivot is found, than shut down.
Read the full statement, here.
Speaking to Wavelength, Chris Nelson, from The Big Sea, said: “The news coming out of Louisiana is hugely positive news – any halt in production is a welcome reprieve for the residents who live in the shadow of the Denka plant and have campaigned long and hard for this day.
“However, this is not the time to ease up the pressure on surf brands to end their relationship with toxic Neoprene. We’re not yet at the end of the story. It’s encouraging to see the effect a drop in demand can have, but now is the time to ensure that the change to natural rubber is total, and the closure is permanent. It’s time to use our voices and the power we have as individuals to effect change.”
Residents nearby to the plant have also expressed some cautious optimism. Mary Hampton of Boundless Community Action said: “What I see now is that they never intended to get emissions down. But now they’ve been hit internationally they don’t have a choice.
“I worry it’s just a temporary thing,” Hampton said. “I worry they’re going to sell to somebody else, who will come in with the same regulations and keep doing exactly what they want.”
When The Big Sea was released, filmmakers linked the production of wetsuits to the plant and brought the story to the public. “This is the only chloroprene rubber plant in the US,” Demi told Wavelength a few weeks ago. “When we learned about this we were horrified that a material at the very heart of our lifestyle was causing so much suffering and distress, we could not reconcile that.”
This is a fast-moving story, so we’ll update with more details as it happens.
