BATON ROUGE- Louisiana is home to several chemical and oil plants which create jobs and boost the economy.
When chemicals leak from the plant, it can make residents sick. In extreme cases, chemicals can poison residents and give them long-term illnesses like cancer.
State Senator Cleo Fields is proposing a bill that would force every plant to not only monitor the air quality, but also share that data with the public in real time.
“We love these companies, we love their jobs, but we also want to protect our people, and that’s what this is about,” General Russel Honore’ told WBRZ.
The bill would also require the data to detect if there is a public health threat. The data would have to be gathered in real time and the residents would be alerted by a text or call.
The new technology would cost each plant roughly $18,000 for the program.
“Will it cost the plant money? Yes. But each that complains, lets compare that with the ITEP tax breaks they get for being here and creating jobs,” Honore’ said.
In April 2022, the DOW chemical in Plaquemine leaked chlorine into the air and 23 people were admitted into a hospital.
“People ended up in the hospital because we didn’t have accurate reporting on what the company was seeing,” Honre’ said.
Honore’ says he wants to make sure Louisianans who live near the plants are safe.
“Our people in Louisiana live near those plants, and a lot of them are foreign owned. None of those CEO’s live near those plants,” Honore’ said.
The bill is scheduled to go before the Senate Finance Committee Monday.
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