Community Members Brace for More Betrayal in a New Era of Environmental Justice
At the Wednesday, April 2nd meeting of the St. James Parish Council, I was shocked and personally disappointed to see that our councilmember for the 5th District of St. James, AJ Jasmin, introduced a resolution that called for the Parish Council “to reaffirm its support” for the proposed Formosa Plastics plant, which he called “a safe and environmentally-responsible industrial facility.”
There is nothing safe or environmentally responsible about Formosa Plastics. The Formosa complex would have 14 different plants combined, and it would double the cancer-causing air pollution in our already over-polluted parish. The most dangerous part of the plant is its ethylene cracker, which is located just a mile from St. Louis Academy and Mount Calvary Baptist Church. This unit would emit over 7 tons of cancer-causing ethylene oxide per year, putting not just the 5th District but the whole parish at risk.
Since Formosa Plastics first announced it was coming to St. James in 2018, research into the project’s plans and impacts revealed that the plant would be both environmentally harmful and a poor investment decision. A 2024 study by Johns Hopkins found that nearly 70% of the risk of cancer from air pollution in Cancer Alley is caused by ethylene oxide. The researchers stated that “so much of the environmental risk in this area [seeming] to come from a single chemical is remarkable.” In 2024, the EPA created new safety requirements for facilities that emit ethylene oxide, which would decrease yearly emissions by 80%. Market analysis from groups like S&P and IEEFA consistently finds that new ethylene crackers are a poor investment. In April 2025, a comprehensive study of Formosa Plastics’ St. James facility by IEEFA noted that “operating rates of ethylene production facilities globally are at historic lows due to large-scale capacity additions and weak demand growth” and that “going forward with the proposed petrochemical complex in Louisiana would be a costly misstep.”
Also, since 2018, many members of our community have already lost their lives due to cancer caused by industrial pollution. [[Names of community members]]. Formosa Plastics would be a death sentence for the rest of us. Shame on the Parish Council for welcoming a killer to our community with open arms.
While AJ Jasmin and the rest of the St James Parish Council who supported this resolution turn their backs on the health and livelihoods of the citizens of the 5th district, Rise St James will continue to speak for the people and fight to keep Formosa Plastic out of our home.
