Community says industry to blame

CALCASIEU PARISH — Residents in a Calcasieu Parish community who say they suffer from pollution-related health problems are asking the federal government to relocate their families, provide medical treatment and place a moratorium on industrial facilities in the area.

Mossville residents made the demands in a report issued Tuesday that alleges a clear link between the chemical plants and refineries near the community and toxic chemicals that have been found in the blood of some who live there.

“We, like other communities in the country, have a right to a clean and safe environment,” said Mossville resident David Prince, a member of the community group Mossville Environmental Action Now.

The report by the group and the Advocates for Environmental Human Rights in New Orleans compares the specific chemicals found in the blood of Mossville residents with chemicals that local industrial plants release into the environment.

New Iberia chemist and environmental justice advocate Wilma Subra, who reviewed the data for the residents, contends there is a clear connection.
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