AMY SZPARA

NORCO – Eight hours after Orion Refining Corp. extinguished a fire which erupted from a gasoline storage tank on site, residents who live nearby, marched outside the plant’s entrance Friday with protest signs demanding the corporation pull out or relocate neighborhoods. “You are busted Orion. Liar, Liar. Tanks on fire. You can run, but you can’t hide,” shouted the group as they blocked Henry LeBoyd and Joy Patin of Orion from leaving in a vehicle. New Sarpy Concerned Citizens, an organization of residents who live near the plant, formed a protest party outside Orion’s gates around 11 a.m. Claiming chemical spills, fires, explosions and accidents are rampant, the group demanded Orion speak with them. Former owners of the Transamerica Refinery relocated neighbors from the town of Good Hope, and now people who live on St. Charles Street in New Sarpy want the same thing. Working with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which takes air samples in areas where toxic conditions are possible, Concerned Citizens said samples have shown violations of the state health standards for serious toxic threats. One of their main concerns is benzene, which is known to cause cancer. Monique Harden, an attorney for EarthJustice, an environmental law firm, has been working closely with Concerned Citizens for some time. “When are we going to realize how dangerous it is to dump hazardous chemicals in residential areas?” she said. “We need relocation, but we don’t have the laws to make that happen.” She added that benzene was released into the air for 12 hours Thursday. Harden said Orion is now under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency. Orion spokesperson Patin said, “This is the type of situation we were trying to avoid. It doesn’t accomplish anything.” Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said the sampling done by Orion was inaccurate, as their monitor does not take samples low enough to catch violations. “They take phony air samples,” she said. Dorothy Jenkins, president of Concerned Citizens, said Orion hasn’t told the residents anything. “I just had heart surgery and a stroke,” she said, as she watched from the inside of her parked van. She couldn’t get out to participate. “All this stuff we’re inhaling, it’s just too much. I think it’s time for something to happen,” she said.