New EPA rule says 200 US chemical plants must reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 200 chemical plants nationwide must reduce toxic emissions likely to cause cancer under a new Environmental Protection Agency rule. Officials say the rule issued Tuesday advances President Joe Biden’s commitment to environmental justice with health protections for communities burdened by industrial pollution from chemicals such as chloroprene. The rule applies to facilities in Texas, Louisiana, the Ohio River Valley, West Virginia and the upper South. It benefits a majority-Black Louisiana town EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited in 2021. Denka Performance Elastomer in LaPlace, Louisiana, is the largest source of chloroprene emissions in the U.S. and will have to reduce emissions. Denka says it has complied with air permitting requirements and opposes the EPA’s action.