U.S : "We don’t want it in the white area, but we don’t mind it being in the black area."

Tell Governor John Bel Edwards that we won't allow him to sacrifice Black people's lives for profit Stop Formosa Plastics from poisoning the Black community before it's too late.  TAKE ACTION

Dear friend,

Once again, Governor John Bel Edwards is allowing corporate greed to endanger Black people’s lives in Louisiana. Formosa Plastics has applied to Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to build a 9.4 billion dollar petrochemical plant in the predominantly Black community of St. James Parish, Louisiana.¹ And with several permits already moving through the department successfully, it looks like they are going to be approved. The problem ? Formosa Plastic’s plant proposes to emit a chemical that a 2016 EPA study has proven causes cancer, “even with limited exposure.”² There is no other way to say it. If this chemical plant is built, Black people will die. This is why we must speak up now, before it’s too late.

Let Governor John Bel Edwards know we won’t sit by while corporations poison our people. The time to protect our communities is now.

This isn’t the first chemical plant that has been approved in the region. The stretch of the Mississippi river where the company intends to build has long been referred to as “Cancer Alley” after the parish adopted a land-use plan that designated large swaths of agricultural land for industrial use in 2014.³ Since then, several multi-billion dollar companies have built major manufacturing plants that emit some of the highest levels of waste and pollution in the country in a region where Black people make up just under 50% of the population. This is unacceptable. 

Another Black community poisioned by corporate greed and abandoned by the government. We cannot allow this to happen. Sign now.

Time and time again, the state of Louisiana has demonstrated that it values profit more than it values Black people’s lives. According to a ProPublica analysis, the air around Formosa’s plants is more toxic with cancer-causing chemicals than 99.6% of industrialized areas of the country⁴. Just last month, Formosa Plastics was required to pay residents of Texas $50 million dollars for the impact of illegally dumping billions of plastic pellets and other pollutants into Lavaca Bay and other waterways. Still, despite the devastation the company has caused across the country, DEQ seems poised to grant them more land, resources and space. And despite the fact that Formosa’s currently-operating PVC site in Baton Rouge has been out of compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for the past three years, Governor John Bel Edwards recently announced a 332 million dollar investment of taxpayer dollars into the company’s expansion in Louisiana.⁵ This isn’t right.

Formosa Plastics is counting on us to turn a blind eye to the disaster it is creating. Tell Governor John Bel Edwards that it’s his duty to stop them.

We’ve long known that pollution takes its greatest toll on the health of Black communities, who are often left with few resources or recourse. Environmental racism continues to place Black people in close proximity to pollution and other environmental hazards.⁶ Black children suffer disproportionately from asthma, and are seven to eight times more likely to die of asthma than white children.⁷ Communities of color face nearly 40% more exposure to toxic air pollution than white communities.⁸ Formosa Plastics is counting on environmental racism and to get away with their crimes and Governor John Bel Edwards is giving them the free pass they need to do it. We can’t let that happen.

Sign now to demand that Governor John Bel Edwards does his job and protects his constituents. Take action to stop Formosa Plastics from poisoning Louisiana’s Black communities.

Until justice is real, 

Jade, Rashad, Arisha, Johnny, Future, Amanda, Evan, Imani, Samantha, Eesha, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team.

References : 

1. "A Community In America’s ‘Cancer Alley’ Fights For Its Life Against A Plastics Plant,” Huffington Post, July 9, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/195290?t=11&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP
2. “Report on Ethylene Oxide,” United States Environmental Protection Agency, December 16, 2016, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163219?t=13&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP
3. “Welcome to “Cancer Alley,” Where Toxic Air Is About to Get Worse,” ProPublica, October 30, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163220?t=15&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP
4. “What Could Happen if a $9.4 Billion Chemical Plant Comes to “Cancer Alley,” ProPublica, November 18, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163220?t=17&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP
5. “Gov. Edwards And Formosa Plastics Announce $332 Million Expansion,” Louisiana Economic Development News, August 28, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163220?t=19&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP
6. “Environmental Injustice': Minorities Face Nearly 40% More Exposure to Toxic Air Pollution,” Common Dreams, April 16, 2014, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163220?t=21&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP
7. “Clinton accurately says black children with asthma have 500% higher mortality rate,” Polifact, August 11th, 2015, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163220?t=23&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP
8. “Pollution is segregated, too,” The Washington Post, August 11th, 2015, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163220?t=25&akid=39422%2E1942551%2EuehEmP

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Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.