Legal brief filed for relocation of St. John the Baptist Parish elementary school from nearby chemical plant

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. ( WGNO ) — The Legal Defense Fund has filed a brief in an effort to close a St. John the Baptist Parish elementary school and move its location from a nearby chemical plant.

On June 12, the LDF filed the brief as part of its St. John the Baptist Parish School desegregation case to close Fifth Ward Elementary School and transfer its students to a LaPlace school.

According to a news release, Fifth Ward Elementary is located less than a mile away from Denka Performance Elastomer and predominantly serves Black and Hispanic students.

The release states the plant emits chloroprene, a chemical that “environmental scientists have determined when inhaled, especially by small children, can cause cancer and genetic mutations.”

In September 2022, the Associated Press reported that the EPA was investigating if Black residents in the area were being discriminated against by “failing to control air pollution in parishes packed with refineries and petrochemical plants.”

In October 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency wrote a 56-page letter outlining findings that air pollution was allowed to remain high in the area and made a recommendation to close Fifth Ward Elementary and relocate its students.

The letter claimed residents in the predominately Black area had been exposed to carcinogens for decades.

On June 12, the LDF filed the brief to outline why students at Fifth Ward Elementary should be moved to LaPlace Elementary School.

Read the LDF’s full brief:

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