US government sues chemical firm over chloroprene emissions

A large chemical processing plant

Source: © Emily Kask/AFP/Getty Images

Denka disputes claims of ‘unacceptably high’ releases from neoprene manufacturing facility

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Denka Performance Elastomer on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging that the company’s emissions of chloroprene from its neoprene rubber manufacturing facility in LaPlace, Louisiana, present an unacceptable cancer risk to the nearby community. The DOJ wants to force Denka to further cut hazardous emissions from the plant.