LAPLACE — Chloroprene emissions are being monitored at the LaPlace Denka plant by company officials and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, while a state environmental group warns local residents of increased health risks.

Greg Langley, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality press secretary, told L’OBSERVATEUR Friday morning that Denka has a valid permit to release chloroprene, is operating under that permit and is cooperating with state and federal agencies.

“We are working with them to get some interim measures to reduce emissions of chloroprene,” Langley said.

Denka Performance Elastomer announced in November its acquisition of the synthetic rubber business of DuPont Performance Polymers in LaPlace, at the time establishing LaPlace as its new U.S. corporate headquarters. The announcement accompanied Denka’s recently completed acquisition of DuPont’s polychloroprene synthetic rubber business, known by the trade name Neoprene.

Material produced at the LaPlace site is used in consumer products including wet suits, orthopedic braces, adhesives, electrical insulation and coatings.

Plant Manager Jorge Lavastida released a statement from Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE) saying the company has worked swiftly and collaboratively with regulatory agencies to evaluate processes to find ways to lower chloroprene emissions from the facility.

“DPE has developed and is implementing air monitoring plans and air modeling plans,” he said. “DPE has also continued to meet with our employees and stakeholders, such as our near neighbors and Community Advisory Panel, to share information and provide updates.”

Wilma Subra, a chemist and technical adviser with Louisiana Environmental Action Network, spoke to St. John the Baptist Parish School Board members Thursday about increased chloroprene contamination in the air and possible health concerns with it, including cancer.

She repeatedly mentioned the higher-than-allowed chloroprene presence marked by DEQ testing in various locations, including Fifth Ward Elementary and East St. John High School.

The Denka plant produces chloroprene while making neoprene rubber.

School Board member Russ Wise asked Subra if St. John Parish was under a greater risk of cancer, especially among children, as a result of the emissions.

Subra said cancer registry statistics showed no increased risk since the plant began operating 47 years ago, adding those numbers may be skewed.

“Frequently when someone comes down with cancer, they go out of state for treatment and a lot of times that does not get recorded back here where they live,” she said.

When Wise asked for her “conclusion” to how safe it is for the children at Fifth Ward and neighboring schools, Subra said the answer would be clearer after the EPA further monitors the health impacts associated with the current air testing.

Subra said Louisiana Environmental Action Network is working with numerous St. John Parish residents and elected leaders to complete hundreds of local health surveys.

Parish Councilman Larry Sorapuru, who was in attendance Thursday, said Parish Council members are monitoring the situation, adding he is personally pushing for air sampling from the parish’s West Bank.

School Board member Albert Burl said dramatic increases in chloroprene emissions cited by Subra demanded immediate action.

“I think if this is the case and this has been identified since December, we need to go to the federal level and let them know what is going on and how it is affecting our community,” Burl said. “It’s time to start picketing. Maybe they need to stop producing (chloroprene) until they can come up with a viable solution to stop putting it in our communities.”

DEQ

Dr. Chuck Brown, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality secretary, was scheduled to address the School Board this week but was unable to attend.

DEQ Press Secretary Greg Langley said chloroprene was recently classified as a “possible carcinogen” based on exposure seven days a week, 24 hours a day for 70 years.

“I don’t know that anybody has been exposed to that kind of duration,” Langley said. “We have found no indication of elevated incidents of any kind of cancer in that area. We are working with the plant to reduce emissions and get some interim measures in place.”

According to Langley, when someone gets cancer and sees a doctor, that information is sent to the Louisiana Tumor Registry to track incidents of cancer and mortality rates across the state.

“When we checked with them, there has not been anything out of the ordinary in St. John the Baptist Parish,” Langley said. “The cancer rates there are just about state average on everything.”

Denka maintains the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment overstates risks regarding chloroprene.

“The NATA cancer risk assessment assumptions (which are very much in scientific dispute) relate to a 70-year lifetime of exposure to ambient chloroprene,” a company statement reads. “These particular manufacturing units were started up by DuPont in 1969. Regardless, DPE’s potential emission reductions over the next 12 to 18 months should address the concern about such long-term exposure.”

The statement concludes: “Based on the best information we have, we do not believe anyone is at risk on a short-term basis from current emissions levels.”