Diamond

The predominantly African-American community of Diamond in St Charles Parish, existed between a Shell chemical plant on the west and a sprawling facility including another Shell Chemical plant and two oil refineries on the east. The subdivision was only four streets right up against the fenceline of the chemical plant and oil refineries (Diamond 2006)

Residents were constantly confronted with an odor “like bleach mixed with garlic and gas”, skin diseases, sarcoidosis, and respiratory issues like asthma. (The Guardian 2003). One resident, Margie Eugene-Richard, grew up in Diamond and recounted witnessing the death of Leroy Jones, a 16 year old boy who died when a spark from a lawnmower ignited gas from a leaking pipe. After that, Richard began to take notice of how often her neighbors were sick and the increasing respiratory issues in her own children. (Frazier 2013).

In 1988, an explosion at the Shell Oil Refinery resulted in 6 deaths (New York Times 1988). After that explosion, some residents in Diamond sued Shell, asking to be relocated. Concerned Citizens of Norco (CCN) was founded by Margie Richard to fight for Diamond residents and end their suffering from health issues due to industrial facilities. Richard led CCN's push for Shell to fund the relocation of Diamond families. Shell eventually agreed to a $30 million buyout in 2002, relocating 350-400 residents and addressing longstanding environmental concerns (Smith 2017). In 2004, Richard won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work in Diamond (Goldman Prize 2004).