The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) represents Black families in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana Public Schools fighting to ensure that their children receive a safe and quality education. The school district, which primarily enrolls Black students, is located in one of the most highly industrialized parishes in Louisiana and has some of the highest rates of toxic substance releases and air pollutants in the nation.
St. John the Baptist Parish consistently experiences high incidence rates of health ailments compared to other parishes in the state, including cancer and asthma. The parish contains several industrial sites, including Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (Denka) and Air Products and Chemicals Manufacturing Facility, that expose children to toxic industrial emissions that research shows can trigger a number of illnesses and adverse health consequences. Denka is the only industrial plant in the nation that emits chloroprene, a chemical compound that environmental scientists have determined can cause cancer and genetic mutations. Small children are especially sensitive to mutagens like chloroprene.
Many schools within St. John the Baptist Parish are closely located to the Denka and Air Products and Chemicals Manufacturing facilities and face high instances of adverse health consequences caused by air pollution including respiratory ailments and cancer. In October 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency submitted a letter to the Louisiana Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Quality recommending that children attending Fifth Ward Elementary be relocated away from Denka due to their significant risk of exposure to chloroprene.
On June 12, 2024, LDF filed a brief in its ongoing school desegregation case seeking to close Fifth Ward Elementary, which is located a few hundred feet away from Denka. Fifth Ward Elementary serves more than 300 children aged four to nine, the majority who are Black.. LDF sought a court order to move the students to LaPlace Elementary, outside of the danger zone where chloroprene concentrations are greatest. Scientific experts had previously advised the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board that Fifth Ward Elementary students face unacceptably high cancer rates and other health risks.
In November 2024, after LDF filed its motion, the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board voted to close Fifth Ward Elementary before the 2025-2026 school year. LDF released a statement regarding the vote, underscoring that the health of the students cannot wait and advocating for the Board to close the school swiftly due to imminent danger. LDF also filed a brief advocating for the Board to reassign all Fifth Ward Elementary students to LaPlace Elementary rather than split students between LaPlace Elementary and East St. John Preparatory. East St. John Preparatory is located less than 1.5 miles from Denka and its students are at high risk of exposure to significant environmental hazards.
Environmental injustice occurs when certain communities or groups are disproportionately exposed to and harmed by environmental risks and hazards. These environmental factors can vary, including heightened exposure to pollution, toxic emissions, and contaminated water and air, along with associated health risks. These disparities include unequal protection from health risks and hazardous environments, as well as unequal involvement in shaping and enforcing environmental laws and policies.
The fight for environmental justice and racial justice are interconnected because Black communities, other communities of color, and low-income communities in the United States are disproportionately exposed to environmental risks and hazards — including air and industrial pollution, poor water quality, and other toxic wastes. Historically, these disparities have been exacerbated by several factors, including housing discrimination, unequal proximity to pollutants, and economic disparities. At the same time, these communities are less likely to have the resources, representation, and political power to advocate for the environmental policies that impact their communities.
Everyone deserves equal access to environmental protections that protect them from these harms. Therefore, achieving racial justice requires addressing these environmental inequities and ensuring that all people can live safely within their communities, protected from environmental harms and be involved in shaping the environmental policies that affect their lives.
The Parish’s school district contains several industrial sites, including the Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (Denka) facility whose chloroprene emissions have led the Parish to have the highest cancer risk in the nation based on 2015 and 2018 National Air Toxics Assessment reports. Denka emits chloroprene, which is associated with lung and liver cancer. Denka also emits ethylene oxide, which is associated with occupational asthma and certain cancers, including lymphoma and breast cancer. Ethylene oxide and chloroprene are the top two primary drivers of cancer risk in the Parish.
The air surrounding the schools and homes located closest to Denka have the greatest concentration of chloroprene within St. John the Baptist Parish. The community around the Denka facility is disproportionately populated by low-income, economically distressed areas and historically Black rural communities. Community members are continually impacted by the facilities’ noises, odors, lights, emissions, and road traffic, and are subject to discriminatory practices, such as inequitable state approvals for facility siting permits and lax regulatory oversight and enforcement. This has resulted in declining property values, inability to relocate, and regular community complaints of ongoing health problems. The burden of these toxic emissions falls disproportionately on Black people and people of color, serving as a prime example of environmental injustice.
