Vehicle manufacturer Mitsubishi has decided to cancel plans to build a $1.3 billion chemical plant in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, the Louisiana Illuminator reported.
Originally, the plant was intended to produce methyl methacrylate or MMA. This chemical is used to produce a wide range of plastic and rubber products, as well as paints and glazes. According to Oil and Gas Watch, it would have produced 385,000 tons of MMA per year, and the Louisiana Illuminator reported that it would have employed 125 people.
While creating jobs is good for the local economy, these ones wouldn't have been worth the cost.
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The Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a nonprofit dedicated to industry analysis, said the Mitsubishi Geismar facility was "the wrong project, at the wrong place and time, with the wrong financial scenario" in its report on the situation, which it released in July. Based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency, it estimated the plant would have been one of the worst 50 polluters in Louisiana if it had been completed.
The plant would have produced an estimated 780,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, alongside other pollutants. That's a serious addition to the toxic pollution in an area of the country that has already been nicknamed "Cancer Alley."
The many manufacturing and industrial plants along the Mississippi River are a major environmental justice issue. People who live nearby face serious health risks, including a heightened risk of cancer, and shorter lifespans. The communities impacted are disproportionately made up of people of color — as is frequently the case in heavily polluted areas across America.
But now there will be one less plant contributing to the problem. In a statement, Mitsubishi announced to investors that it would meet its needs for MMA with existing facilities in Tennessee and other locations.
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