Overlooked by the EPA, a Black West Virginia community sues over air pollution
Institute, one of two majority-Black communities in the state, was left out of an effort earlier this year to tighten limits on cancer-causing chemicals, reports Sarah Elbeshbishi for the Mountain State Spotlight.
In a nutshell:
A citizens group in West Virginia has filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to include their Black community, along with others in Louisiana and Texas, in efforts to tighten rules on cancer-causing air pollution. The lawsuit alleges that the EPA missed a crucial deadline, leaving vulnerable communities exposed to harmful chemicals. Pam Nixon, an environmental advocate, expressed frustration at the neglect of her community by the EPA. The lawsuit seeks to pressure regulators to update emissions standards for facilities producing hazardous air pollutants, particularly affecting communities of color and lower-income areas.
Key quote:
“There is no justice yet until all communities are treated the same and until people everywhere are breathing clean air and it doesn’t impact the health of their families,” said Pam Nixon, who got sick after being exposed to a leak from the Institute plant in 1985.
The big picture:
Polyether polyols, including carcinogens like ethylene oxide, pose significant health and environmental risks. Exposure to these hazardous air pollutants can lead to an increased cancer risk. These pollutants contribute to air pollution, particularly in communities of color and lower-income areas, exacerbating environmental justice concerns.
Read the article at the Mountain State Spotlight.
Derrick Z. Jackson reported for EHN that the EPA considers ethylene oxide emissions to be cancer causing. Jackson stated, "in 2016, the agency concluded that the gas is 60 times more toxic than previously estimated, causing many communities that had never given facilities that use ethylene oxide facilities much thought—at least compared to refineries, coal-fired power plants, and hazardous waste—to take fresh stock of the unusually high levels of disease they were seeing."
