LAPLACE — Environmental experts and medical professionals agree residents in St. John the Baptist Parish are being exposed to higher than accepted levels of chloroprene emitting from chemical behemoth Denka Performance Elastomer, but at what levels and the danger posed to the area remain sources of disagreement.

Parties from both sides squared off during the Parish Council meeting this week, and even after nearly 90 minutes of debate that became contentious at times, those in attendance left with few answers and perhaps even more confusion.

“I’m here to find a solution,” said Council Chairman Lennix Madere Jr., who on at least two occasions squared off with Councilman Larry Sorapuru Jr.

Parish resident Geraldine Watkins set the stage during public input with an impassioned plea to government officials.

“It’s time for the government to stand with its residents,” she said. “What about the sustainability of our families of this parish?”

Three attorneys representing residents in a lawsuit against Denka followed, claiming there is a continued pattern of the company producing chloroprene at an elevated risk. They also claimed Denka officials, none of whom attended the meeting, are not being honest with residents.

Wilma Subra of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network said Denka, which has been releasing the chemical for the past 49 years since its days at Dupont, is the largest releaser of chloroprene in the United States.

She produced a graphic revealing census tracts where the risks appear to be the highest. One tract closet to the facility showed a risk factor of 776 people per one million at risk of cancer from chloroprene, which is the highest in the country. Most of the locations were well more than 100 individuals per one million at risk, and even in Garyville, which sits on the western end of the parish, the risk factor is 51 individuals per one million.

She said in most of the United States the cancer risk due to chloroprene were zero to one per million individuals, and the national average is 0.968.

“You are sitting here tonight being exposed to chloroprene,” Subra told Council members.

She said the highest concentrations of the chemical are normally found in the liver, myocardial muscle and brain as a result of exposure.

Subra also said some chloroprene metabolites are presumed to be more toxic than the actual chemical. Those metabolites are excreted in the urine and she released numbers that show urine samples taken from individuals living in the area as well as students attending nearby schools revealed a 100 percent rate of having metabolites of chloroprene.

When asked by Councilman Thomas Malik the most prudent solution, Subra said Denka should present a number of potential solutions, including control technologies, or shutter the plant, which would come at the expense of a number of jobs in a financially strapped parish.

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Dr. Chuck Brown, who is in constant communication with Denka officials, said data samples from 2016 and this Spring show dramatic decreases in chloroprene emissions. He said the level was down to 1.5 milligrams/cubic meters on April 7, and a later sample was at 0.8.

“A fact is a fact,” Brown said, refuting previous sampling numbers. “We want (council members) to have accurate information so you can make decisions.

“We must find ways to reduce the numbers, and there are options out there for further reductions,” Brown added. “Reduced production is not off the table.”

He said reducing the chloroprene levels is high on his priority list, and addressed claims made by opponents, asking, “How would they know what is being discussed?”

Brown said potential solutions include evaluating some of the plant’s processes, especially during maintenance operations and at the pot kettle stage, saying both provide opportunities for further reduction.

On more than one occasion, Sorapuru aggressively questioned Brown’s professional background and even hinted at Brown’s own ethics, resulting in heated exchanges between the Council members. At one point, Madere threatened to have Sorapuru removed from the chamber.

Dr. Jimmy Guidry of the state Department of Health admitted there was little science on chloroprene and added there is some confusion regarding the data but “we can’t be exposed to this.”

Dr. LuAnn White, a toxicologist and director of the Tulane Center for Applied Environmental Health, said she convened a panel of experts who determined the levels of chloroprene being emitted were not at a rate that would be considered an emergency.

White, who said exposure to chloroprene does not mean one will develop cancer, said she has seen the levels come down and is emphatic that trend continues.

White also said it’s difficult to accurately determine a cancer came from a particular source, saying that factors such as smoking, diet and lifestyle can also have significant impacts.

Guidry backed up White, saying the longer a person lives, the more likely that person will develop cancer. He said there are multiple regions statewide with elevated cancer rates that are not in close proximity to a chemical plant.

He also noted in Louisiana generally many people do not contact their physicians early enough to get diagnosed.

“There is no easy answer,” he said.

Brown said he is in the process of discussing potential fines, which he called a corrective action, with Denka.

“I am not here to discuss fines,” Madere said. “This is not about money, this is about saving lives.”

— By Richard Meek