Earlier this month, residents from Charles Parish, including the St. Rose Community One Voice and Louisiana Bucket Brigade, held a demonstration calling for clean air and support of legislation requiring 24/7 air monitoring of an asphalt plant nearby their communities.
Sadly, many residents are experiencing health issues due to the environmentally hazardous fumes coming from this one particular plant nearby, operated by Shell Chemical and IMTT. Residents and community members have been complaining for nearly a year now, and while the plant announced that it would be installing equipment to correct the issue last year, people are still experiencing health hazards linked to the fumes, which evidently contain high levels of sulfur compounds.
Although the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has claimed that there are no dangerous health hazards associated with the plant (simply the potential to experience headaches from the fumes), residents still maintain that they are getting sick due to the exposure and it is about time that someone took stronger actions to protect their health from the hazardous fumes.
Louisiana’s Pollution Problem
It is no secret that Louisiana has pollution concerns. The state is home to over 150 petrochemical plants and over 50,000 oil and gas wells, in addition to the many refineries and thousands of miles of pipelines. Louisiana pollution statistics indicate that more than 200,000 people and almost 100 schools and daycare centers in the state are located within two miles of a refinery. According to news sources, the state’s refineries have averaged eight accidents per week and over 28 million pounds of chemicals were released into the air between 2005 and 2012. Chemical exposure concerns reached such heights that community groups have started a database to track these accidents.
Environmental Toxic Torts
Litigation brought on behalf of those suffering from exposure to hazardous chemicals released into the environment (also known as a toxic tort) will be comprised of a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer or party who caused the injury through this exposure. These environmental contamination cases are becoming more and more common, as communities are exposed to hazardous chemicals that can negatively affect their health.
Legal Representation in Toxic and Chemical Exposure Cases
Exposure to toxic chemicals can cause respiratory illness and injury, neurological disorders and many forms of cancer. To prove your claim, you and your attorney will need to prove that you were exposed to the chemical, that it caused your injury, that the company is liable for that injury and can compensate you for it.
Harrell & Nowak has represented clients who have been injured by the Louisiana pollution and release of toxic chemicals into the air, soil, and water. These releases can be from explosions, leaks, spills, or fires. Specifically, Eric Nowak and Shirin Harrell were appointed as class counsel in Marshall vs. Air Liquide, an environmental hazard lawsuit in Civil District Court for Orleans Parish.
If you have fallen ill because of toxic chemical exposure, contact the lawyers at our New Orleans firm, also serving Metairie, Kenner, and nearby communities.