Geismar
The industrialization of the community of Geismar, once surrounded by agriculture fields, is representative of many Louisiana communities evolution from agriculture plantations to industrial plants. The predominantly African-American community in Ascension Parish is now surrounded by over 20 industrial facilities including Borden Chemical, BASF, PCS Nitrogen, and Shell Chemical. When EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory(TRI) first came out for the year of 1987, Ascension Parish had the highest toxic releases in the state. 157,704,217 pounds of those toxic releases were in the Geismar area. Geismar resident, Amos Favorite, pictured above during the The Great LA Toxics March of 1988, was one of the founding voices of Louisiana’s Environmental Justice movement and a board member of LEAN. Many Geismar residents continue to be concerned about the myriad of emission sources within their community and their potential impacts on their health and quality of life.
