In Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, a Deserved Reprieve for St. John Residents After Years of Environmental Injustice

For nearly a decade, residents of St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana have fought tirelessly for something most people take for granted: the right to breathe clean air. They organized, marched, petitioned, sued, and even traveled across the globe to confront the company poisoning their community with chloroprene, a hazardous air pollutant. Now, they’ve won a long-overdue reprieve.

On May 13, 2025, Denka, a multinational chemical manufacturer headquartered in Japan, announced it suspended production at its St. John facility due to mounting financial losses. Denka said it does not intend to restart operations for an indefinite period.

Denka’s facility manufactures neoprene, a synthetic rubber used in wetsuits, medical braces, and car parts. In the process of manufacturing neoprene, the facility regularly releases chloroprene — a highly toxic chemical that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified as a likely carcinogen. Cancer risk from chloroprene is cumulative, and there is no safe level of exposure. Inhaling chloroprene can also damage the nervous, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, hematological, immune, and other systems.

For decades, the majority Black community of St. John has lived under a toxic cloud of chloroprene. DuPont built the facility in 1968. When Denka bought the facility in 2015, it continued releasing chloroprene into a community already burdened by years of exposure. In 2018, EPA released data showing that a census tract in St. John faced the highest cancer risk from toxic air pollution in the nation — 85% of it traced to the neoprene production facility.

“No words can fully describe the emotional and psychological pain this relentless pollution has caused me,” said Robert Taylor, a St. John resident and founder and executive director of community group Concerned Citizens of St. John (CCSJ). “Seeing my family and community, especially the young kids, get sick and die is so painful, especially because this is all preventable.”

Community organizations, including CCSJ, refused to stay silent. They made environmental justice their rallying cry and fought back through every legal, political, and grassroots channel available, including:

• In 2019, residents traveled to Japan to confront Denka’s leadership at its shareholder meeting.
• In 2019 and 2020, CCSJ, successfully defended the EPA’s toxicological assessment of chloroprene against Denka’s attacks.
• In 2021, CCSJ petitioned the EPA to use its emergency powers to curb emissions. It also sued the EPA to force long-overdue updates to air toxics standards regulating Denka and over 200 other chemical facilities, securing new standards in 2024 that would cut more than 6,000 tons of the nation’s most harmful air pollution and reduce chloroprene emissions by about 80%.
• In 2022, CCSJ filed a complaint alleging that Louisiana agencies violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The EPA investigated and issued a first-ever Letter of Concern detailing its initial fact-finding.
• In 2024, CCSJ successfully defended the EPA’s new standards in the D.C. Circuit when Denka tried to block them — and filed suit to strengthen those standards.
• In 2025, the local school board voted to relocate children attending Fifth Ward Elementary School, located next to the plant.

As the EPA began responding to the community’s advocacy, Louisiana officials — and now the Trump EPA — consistently blocked meaningful progress and protected polluters. Then-Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sued the EPA over the civil rights investigation, and the EPA abruptly closed it. The Trump EPA then dropped the enforcement case against the company and announced plans to “reconsider” the 2024 air toxics standards the community fought for.

Against this backdrop, Denka’s decision to halt production is long overdue. When Denka reduces production, chloroprene levels at the plant’s fenceline — around schools, churches, and homes — drop. Every day the facility remains offline means cleaner air for St. John’s families.

But this moment is as fragile as it is important. Denka could restart operations or sell the facility. Government agencies could once again delay action or weaken key protections. That’s why the fight continues. For years, Earthjustice has stood with Concerned Citizens of St. John — filing lawsuits, an emergency petition, and a civil rights complaint — and we’ll keep fighting to make this progress stick.

Denka might cite financial pressures, but this shutdown follows years of tireless community advocacy. The air is cleaner today, not because Denka took responsibility, or because the government intervened, but because residents refused to back down.