Southwest Louisiana Residents Respond To Westlake Chemical Leak: Enough Is Enough

Westlake, LA -  This morning, the Louisiana Department of Occupational Safety, Health and Environmental Protection (OSHEP) ordered Westlake residents to shelter-in-place due to a chemical leak coming from the chlorine plant BioLab, which created a visible vapor cloud of chlorine in the air. Authorities had also shut down I-10 eastbound and westbound, which passed through the concentrated chlorine cloud. 

Chlorine is a toxic chemical that can cause severe short-term and long-term respiratory issues. Southwest Louisiana authorities received reports of people experiencing shortness of breath, coughing, and nose and eye irritation from the leak. Impacted residents and environmental justice advocates are also calling out regulatory bodies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), for systemic public endangerment. 

Southwest Louisiana regularly experiences shelter-in-place notices and mandatory evacuations due to chemical leaks or explosions. Many of these facilities operate near schools, low-income neighborhoods, and Black communities. There has been minimal accountability from regulatory agencies or reparations for frontline communities. Instead, agencies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are fast tracking the biggest LNG, or methane gas, export buildout in the country in Southwest Louisiana, exponentially growing the risk of more explosions and chemical leaks in the area. 

This chemical leak is one of many preventable incidents that has led to a nation-wide distrust in regulatory agencies and fossil fuel and petrochemical corporations. People far-and-wide are standing in solidarity with the community of East Palestine, Ohio, who is living through the aftermath of one of the worst chemical disasters in the country, caused by an explosion from a Norfolk Southern rail-car derailment. Likewise, communities across the Gulf Coast have been supporting environmental justice advocates in Freeport, TX, who have been working to hold PHMSA and FERC accountable to their safety after an explosion at the Freeport LNG facility last year. 

Roishetta Ozane, founder and director of the Vessel Project of Louisiana, said:

“The industry that surrounds our communities gets to continue poisoning our air, land, and water, thereby killing us while our elected officials sit in office and continue to approve more of these fossil fuel extractive projects. As a mom I’m mortified, I’m tired, and I’m ready to fight for my children’s lives. This is not right.“

Cindy Robertson, founder and director of the Micah 6:8 Mission, said:

“Living here with a reported and visible accident happening every couple of months is so stressful. My mother was in Westlake serving at her church’s food pantry and had to shelter in place. We need our industry partners to step up their safety and maintenance programs. The notification on this one was better this time, which I think can be attributed in part to our LEPC meeting this week where these procedures were reviewed.”