Petrochemical buildup will face increased opposition

Abstract

Public pushback against US chemical industry development is expected to ramp up in 2020 as community activists organize to oppose a wave of petrochemical projects moving forward from Texas to Pennsylvania. “The two hot issues are Cancer Alley and Pennsylvania,” says Wilma Subra, a Louisiana-based environmental scientist and community advocate. She notes that the stretch of her home state between New Orleans and Baton Rouge—the refining and petrochemical region known as Cancer Alley—will see several projects, including a Formosa Petrochemical ethylene cracker and two methanol plants, advance this year. Meanwhile, Shell Chemical is building western Pennsylvania’s first modern ethylene cracker. Subra, who is involved with communities in both regions, says she has seen an increase in organized opposition to industry development, driven by greater community awareness, increased access to data on the health effects of chemical industry activity, and a new generation of environmental activists. “I call them the hell-raisers,”