Denka closes neoprene plant criticized for harmful emissions

The neoprene maker Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE) is ceasing production at a plant near LaPlace, Louisiana that regulators have scrutinized for harmful emissions. While the Donald J. Trump administration has promised to relieve the regulatory pressure, DPE says the cost of controlling emissions has rendered the plant unprofitable.Neoprene, also known as polychloroprene, is an elastic rubber used to make wet suits, hoses, gaskets, and many other products. The starting material, chloroprene, which the US Environmental Protection Agency classifies as a likely carcinogen, is released into the air during production. DPE’s parent company, the Japanese firm Denka, agreed to buy the Louisiana plant from DuPont in 2014. The EPA released an assessment in 2015 showing high levels of chloroprene around the facility, so the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality started collecting air quality data. In 2017, DPE agreed to reduce its chloroprene emissions. The company says it spent $35 million to install equipment that cut chloroprene emissions by 85% compared to 2014 levels.Despite the progress, the EPA filed a complaint in 2023 that sought to force DPE to further reduce chloroprene emissions. The agency argued that they posed a threat to the health of surrounding communities, where a majority of residents are Black. In April 2024, the EPA created a new regulation capping chloroprene emissions. DPE appealed the rule, claiming that it didn’t give the company enough time to comply and that it unfairly singled out its facility—the only US site that was making neoprene. After Trump’s election, things started to