Reserve
The Dupont facility in Reserve has been releasing chloroprene since 1968. Two months prior to EPA releasing it’s National Air Toxics Assessment(NATA) classifying chloroprene as a likely human carcinogen, Dupont sold the facility to a Japanese company, DENKA. Reserve has the highest cancer risk in the country due to chloroprene air emissions from DENKA. Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality issued an Administrative Order on Consent to DENKA outlining emission reduction measures. Those control technologies have been installed but DENKA is actively challenging EPA’s chloroprene assessment. On-going air sampling confirms the local community continues to be exposed to levels above EPA’s recommendations. Residents have expressed frustration over LDEQ’s refusal to enforce the EPA recommended limit for chloroprene while the US EPA has suggested that they will not develop an enforceable standard for chloroprene. This has left the community with insufficient protections from either state or federal regulators.