LISTEN LIVE
WATCH LIVE
WTMJ
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
55 °f
Milwaukee
57.8 ° Wed
59.6 ° Thu
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Breaking News
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Decision Wisconsin
    • Education
    • Entertainment
    • Environment
    • Featured Stories
    • Government and Politics
    • Health
    • National
    • News Features
    • Wisconsin
    Critically missing woman in Milwaukee

    Critically missing woman in Milwaukee

    Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan arrested on obstruction charges

    Federal grand jury indicts Wisconsin judge in immigration case, allowing charges to continue

    MFD Fire Chief Lipski: “We can’t rule anything out.”

    MFD Fire Chief Lipski: “We can’t rule anything out.”

    UPDATE: Missing pregnant teenager found safe near Omaha, Nebraska; alleged abductor in custody

    The man accused of abducting a pregnant teen from Beaver Dam faces federal charges

    A giant troll is coming to Tosa

    A giant troll is coming to Tosa

    Small fire closes the Student Center at Milwaukee Area Technical College

    Small fire closes the Student Center at Milwaukee Area Technical College

  • Weather
    • Closings and Delays
    • Flight Status
    • Interactive Radar
    • Watches and Warnings
  • Traffic
    • Driver’s Ed with Debbie
  • Sports
    • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Brewers All Access Podcast
    • Milwaukee Bucks
      • Bucks in 6 Minutes
      • Bucks Talk
      • Bucks Weekly: The Podcast
    • Green Bay Packers
      • Green & Gold Insiders Podcast
    • NCAA
  • On-Air
    • Wisconsin’s Morning News
      • Everyday Hero
    • Point Taken with Steve Scaffidi & Kristin Brey
      • Best of the Hawaiian Islands with Steve Scaffidi & Fox World Travel
      • Steve Scaffidi’s Salute to Service presented by WaterStone Bank
    • The Upswing
    • Wisconsin’s Midday News
    • Wisconsin’s Afternoon News
      • America’s Music Cities Holiday with John Mercure & Collette
      • Kingdoms of Southeast Asia with John Mercure & Collette
    • What’s On Tap
      • Germany, Austria, & Czech Republic – Beer & Brewery Tour with Sandy Maxx & Journeys Connect
    • Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News
    • The Truth: Unfiltered
    • WTMJ Conversations
    • The Mid-West Farm Report
  • Podcasts

    Wisconsin’s Morning News Podcast

    You Need To Listen Podcast

    You Need To Listen Podcast

    Brewers All Access Podcast

    WTMJ Conversations Podcast

    Point Taken with Steve Scaffidi & Kristin Brey

    Wisconsin’s Afternoon News Podcast

    Bucks Talk: The Podcast

    Bucks+ Audio Podcast

    Bucks+ Audio Podcast

    The Upswing

    What’s On Tap Podcast

    Scaffidiology Podcast

    The Truth: Unfiltered

    The Truth: Unfiltered

    Wisconsin’s Midday News Podcast

    Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News Podcast

    Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News Podcast

    Bucks Central Podcast

    Bucks Central Podcast

    • Wisconsin’s Morning News Podcast
    • Point Taken Podcast
    • The Upswing Podcast
    • Wisconsin’s Midday News Podcast
    • Wisconsin’s Afternoon News Podcast
    • Daily Download
    • What’s On Tap Podcast
    • Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News Podcast
    • Decision Wisconsin Podcast
    • The Mid-West Farm Report Podcast
    • Featured Show Podcasts
      • The Accunet Mortgage and Realty Show Podcast
      • Drake & Associates Retirement Ready Podcast
      • Experience Wisconsin Podcast
      • The Fix-It Show Podcast
      • The Fox World Travel Show Podcast
      • Money Talk, The Annex Wealth Management Show Podcast
    • Brewers All Access Podcast
    • Milwaukee Bucks
      • Bucks in 6 Minutes
      • Bucks Weekly: The Podcast
      • Bucks Talk: The Podcast
    • Scaffidiology Podcast
    • WTMJ Conversations Podcast
    • WTMJ Extras Podcast
    • The Truth Unfiltered: The Podcast
    • Green & Gold Insiders Podcast
  • Specialty Shows
    • Experience Wisconsin
    • Fix It Show
    • Hired! The GKB Recruitment Show
    • Home Improvement Showcase
    • Sunday Sip
  • Partners
    • Events
      • Annex Wealth Management Webinar
      • Summerfest
      • Wisconsin State Fair
    • Features
      • Every Day Health
      • Experience Wisconsin
      • Steve Scaffidi’s Salute to Service presented by WaterStone Bank
      • The Knowledge Brokers from R&R Insurance
      • Travel Wisconsin
    • Shows
      • Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show
      • Drake & Associates Retirement Ready Show
      • Fox World Travel Show
        • Best of the Hawaiian Islands with Steve Scaffidi & Fox World Travel
      • Joshing Around Milwaukee Podcast
      • Money Talk, The Annex Wealth Management Show
      • What’s the Difference? with Gina Della
  • About
    • Schedule
    • Bios
    • Contests
    • History & Timeline
    • Advertise
    • Careers
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
WTMJ
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Breaking News
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Decision Wisconsin
    • Education
    • Entertainment
    • Environment
    • Featured Stories
    • Government and Politics
    • Health
    • National
    • News Features
    • Wisconsin
    Critically missing woman in Milwaukee

    Critically missing woman in Milwaukee

    Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan arrested on obstruction charges

    Federal grand jury indicts Wisconsin judge in immigration case, allowing charges to continue

    MFD Fire Chief Lipski: “We can’t rule anything out.”

    MFD Fire Chief Lipski: “We can’t rule anything out.”

    UPDATE: Missing pregnant teenager found safe near Omaha, Nebraska; alleged abductor in custody

    The man accused of abducting a pregnant teen from Beaver Dam faces federal charges

    A giant troll is coming to Tosa

    A giant troll is coming to Tosa

    Small fire closes the Student Center at Milwaukee Area Technical College

    Small fire closes the Student Center at Milwaukee Area Technical College

  • Weather
    • Closings and Delays
    • Flight Status
    • Interactive Radar
    • Watches and Warnings
  • Traffic
    • Driver’s Ed with Debbie
  • Sports
    • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Brewers All Access Podcast
    • Milwaukee Bucks
      • Bucks in 6 Minutes
      • Bucks Talk
      • Bucks Weekly: The Podcast
    • Green Bay Packers
      • Green & Gold Insiders Podcast
    • NCAA
  • On-Air
    • Wisconsin’s Morning News
      • Everyday Hero
    • Point Taken with Steve Scaffidi & Kristin Brey
      • Best of the Hawaiian Islands with Steve Scaffidi & Fox World Travel
      • Steve Scaffidi’s Salute to Service presented by WaterStone Bank
    • The Upswing
    • Wisconsin’s Midday News
    • Wisconsin’s Afternoon News
      • America’s Music Cities Holiday with John Mercure & Collette
      • Kingdoms of Southeast Asia with John Mercure & Collette
    • What’s On Tap
      • Germany, Austria, & Czech Republic – Beer & Brewery Tour with Sandy Maxx & Journeys Connect
    • Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News
    • The Truth: Unfiltered
    • WTMJ Conversations
    • The Mid-West Farm Report
  • Podcasts

    Wisconsin’s Morning News Podcast

    You Need To Listen Podcast

    You Need To Listen Podcast

    Brewers All Access Podcast

    WTMJ Conversations Podcast

    Point Taken with Steve Scaffidi & Kristin Brey

    Wisconsin’s Afternoon News Podcast

    Bucks Talk: The Podcast

    Bucks+ Audio Podcast

    Bucks+ Audio Podcast

    The Upswing

    What’s On Tap Podcast

    Scaffidiology Podcast

    The Truth: Unfiltered

    The Truth: Unfiltered

    Wisconsin’s Midday News Podcast

    Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News Podcast

    Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News Podcast

    Bucks Central Podcast

    Bucks Central Podcast

    • Wisconsin’s Morning News Podcast
    • Point Taken Podcast
    • The Upswing Podcast
    • Wisconsin’s Midday News Podcast
    • Wisconsin’s Afternoon News Podcast
    • Daily Download
    • What’s On Tap Podcast
    • Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News Podcast
    • Decision Wisconsin Podcast
    • The Mid-West Farm Report Podcast
    • Featured Show Podcasts
      • The Accunet Mortgage and Realty Show Podcast
      • Drake & Associates Retirement Ready Podcast
      • Experience Wisconsin Podcast
      • The Fix-It Show Podcast
      • The Fox World Travel Show Podcast
      • Money Talk, The Annex Wealth Management Show Podcast
    • Brewers All Access Podcast
    • Milwaukee Bucks
      • Bucks in 6 Minutes
      • Bucks Weekly: The Podcast
      • Bucks Talk: The Podcast
    • Scaffidiology Podcast
    • WTMJ Conversations Podcast
    • WTMJ Extras Podcast
    • The Truth Unfiltered: The Podcast
    • Green & Gold Insiders Podcast
  • Specialty Shows
    • Experience Wisconsin
    • Fix It Show
    • Hired! The GKB Recruitment Show
    • Home Improvement Showcase
    • Sunday Sip
  • Partners
    • Events
      • Annex Wealth Management Webinar
      • Summerfest
      • Wisconsin State Fair
    • Features
      • Every Day Health
      • Experience Wisconsin
      • Steve Scaffidi’s Salute to Service presented by WaterStone Bank
      • The Knowledge Brokers from R&R Insurance
      • Travel Wisconsin
    • Shows
      • Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show
      • Drake & Associates Retirement Ready Show
      • Fox World Travel Show
        • Best of the Hawaiian Islands with Steve Scaffidi & Fox World Travel
      • Joshing Around Milwaukee Podcast
      • Money Talk, The Annex Wealth Management Show
      • What’s the Difference? with Gina Della
  • About
    • Schedule
    • Bios
    • Contests
    • History & Timeline
    • Advertise
    • Careers
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
WTMJ
No Result
View All Result

DOJ sues La. chemical co. over cancer risk to minority area

by AP News
February 28, 2023, 4:54 pm
in AP National, AP News, National
Reporter’s Notebook for 3/6/21

By MICHAEL PHILLIS and MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials sued a Louisiana chemical maker on Tuesday, alleging that it presents an unacceptable cancer risk to the nearby majority-Black community and demanding cuts in toxic emissions.

Denka Performance Elastomer LLC makes synthetic rubber, emitting the carcinogen chloroprene and other chemicals in such high concentrations that it poses an unacceptable cancer risk, according to the federal complaint. Children are particularly vulnerable. There’s an elementary school a half-mile from the plant.

The former DuPont plant has reduced its emissions over time, but the Justice Department, suing on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the plant still represents “an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare,” including elevated cancer risks.

“The company has not moved far enough or fast enough to reduce emissions or ensure the safety of the surrounding community,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

Denka, a Japanese company that bought the rubber-making plant in 2015, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. A company spokesperson said in September that advocates described a crisis that “simply does not exist.”

Denka’s facility makes neoprene, a flexible, synthetic rubber used to produce common goods such as wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces and automotive belts and hoses. Chloroprene is a liquid raw material used to produce neoprene and is emitted into the air from various areas at the facility.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said every community, no matter its demographics, should be able to breathe clean air and drink clean water. “Our suit aims to stop Denka’s dangerous pollution,” she said in a statement.

The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans, seeks a court order to force Denka to take immediate steps to reduce dangerous emissions of chloroprene. Air monitoring consistently shows long-term chloroprene concentrations in the air near Denka’s LaPlace plant as high as 15 times the levels recommended for a 70-year exposure to the chemical, the complaint says.

The complaint is the latest move by the Biden administration that targets pollution in an 85-mile stretch from New Orleans to Baton Rouge officially known as the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor, but more commonly called Cancer Alley. The region contains several hot spots where cancer risks are far above levels deemed acceptable by the EPA. The White House has prioritized environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by long-term pollution.

Regan visited the parish in 2021 during a five-day trip from Mississippi to Texas that highlighted low-income, mostly minority communities adversely affected by industrial pollution. A Toxics Release Inventory prepared by EPA shows that minority groups make up 56% of those living near toxic sites such as refineries, landfills and chemical plants. Negative effects include chronic health problems such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension.

Last year, t he EPA said it had evidence that Black residents face an increased cancer risk from the chemical plant and that state officials allowed the pollution to remain too high. The agency’s letter was part of an investigation under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which says anyone who receives federal funds cannot discriminate based on race or national origin.

Local activists have long targeted the plant, arguing that nearby air monitoring demonstrates the plant is a danger to St. John the Baptist Parish residents.

The Justice Department, in its complaint, agreed, saying the plant is exposing thousands of people to lifetime cancer risks “multiples of times higher than what is typically considered acceptable.”

Mary Hampton, president of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish, said emissions at the plant need to drop quickly.

“It’s a positive move in the right direction,” she said of the federal lawsuit. “It’s been a long time coming.”

__

Phillis reported from St. Louis

__

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Previous Post

Tennessee officers’ conduct probed in woman’s death

Next Post

Everything you need to know about the 2023 Academy Awards

AP News

AP News

Next Post
Reporter’s Notebook for 3/6/21

Everything you need to know about the 2023 Academy Awards

Connect with WTMJ on Social Media!

More Top Headlines

Critically missing woman in Milwaukee

by Elizabeth Lintonen
Critically missing woman in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Police are searching for critically missing 22-year-old Ahjanay Macklin. She was last seen around 11 A.M. Tuesday...

Read moreDetails

Federal grand jury indicts Wisconsin judge in immigration case, allowing charges to continue

by AP News
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan arrested on obstruction charges

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a man evade...

Read moreDetails

MFD Fire Chief Lipski: “We can’t rule anything out.”

by Sean Brynda
MFD Fire Chief Lipski: “We can’t rule anything out.”

MILWAUKEE-- In the wake of a five-alarm fire that killed five people on Sunday at 2527 West Highland Boulevard, Milwaukee...

Read moreDetails

Sign Up For WTMJ Insiders Below:

Loading

Weather Currents

Milwaukee, United States of America
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Fog
55 ° f
100%
7.2mh
67 f 52 f
Wed
66 f 50 f
Thu
WTMJ

© 2025 Good Karma Broadcasting.

Navigate Site

  • Careers
  • Contact
  • EEO PUBLIC FILE REPORT
  • FCC Public File
  • FCC Applications
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • LISTEN LIVE
  • WATCH LIVE
  • Home
  • News
    • News
    • Local News
  • Weather
    • Weather
    • Watches and Warnings
    • Closings and Delays
    • Flight Status
  • Traffic
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • Green Bay Packers
    • Milwaukee Brewers
    • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Shows
    • Shows
    • Wisconsin’s Morning News
    • Point Taken with Steve Scaffidi & Kristin Brey
      • Best of the Hawaiian Islands with Steve Scaffidi & Fox World Travel
      • Steve Scaffidi’s Salute to Service presented by WaterStone Bank
    • The Upswing
    • Wisconsin’s Midday News
    • Wisconsin’s Afternoon News
      • America’s Music Cities Holiday with John Mercure & Collette
      • Kingdoms of Southeast Asia with John Mercure & Collette
    • What’s On Tap
      • Germany, Austria, & Czech Republic – Beer & Brewery Tour with Sandy Maxx & Journeys Connect
    • Wisconsin’s Weekend Morning News
    • The Mid-West Farm Report
    • WTMJ Conversations
    • Featured Shows
      • Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show
      • Drake & Associates Retirement Ready Show
      • Every Day Health
      • Fix It Show
      • Hired! The GKB Recruitment Show
      • Money Talk, The Annex Wealth Management Show
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • Events
      • Annex Wealth Management Webinar
      • Summerfest
      • Wisconsin State Fair
    • Features
      • Every Day Health
      • Experience Wisconsin
      • Steve Scaffidi’s Salute to Service presented by WaterStone Bank
      • The Knowledge Brokers from R&R Insurance
      • Travel Wisconsin
    • Shows
      • Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show
      • Drake & Associates Retirement Ready Show
      • The Fox World Travel Show
      • Joshing Around Milwaukee Podcast
      • Money Talk, The Annex Wealth Management Show
      • What’s the Difference? with Gina Della
  • Features
    • Features
    • Good Karma Give Back
  • Contests
  • Alexa

© 2025 Good Karma Broadcasting.