Explosion at Louisiana Oil Plant Leaves Black Community Coated in Toxic Fallout
ROSELAND, La. — Tyreik Taylor had barely wiped the oil from his hands when the sky behind him lit up.
Fifteen minutes after the 26-year-old drove home, a roar thundered from the plant where he helped mix chemicals for motor oil and had just punched out. Fire consumed the air, the collapsing metal groaning and liquids hissing as they escaped into the surrounding water, soil, and air. From his yard, he saw neighbors pointing at the rising smoke, not knowing he had been inside the plant only minutes before.
Last Friday afternoon, Aug. 22, a catastrophic explosion erupted at Smitty’s Supply, a major lubricant manufacturing facility in a predominantly Black town about 60 miles northeast of Baton Rouge. The blaze swept through the 15-acre complex that housed half a million gallons of flammable materials.
Oily droplets spattered from the smoky sky as far as 20 miles away, coating rooftops, cars, and front lawns in a slick, shimmering film that glistened like tar. Cancer-causing air toxics such as benzene can be released in refinery and lubricant fires; officials say sampling is underway.
Although no deaths had been reported as of Thursday, the fire inflicted environmental anxiety, residents said. The inferno at Smitty’s Supply is just the latest flashpoint as states and the federal government make it harder to hold industrial companies accountable for damage by rolling back regulations and oversight.
“They don’t care about us,” said Taylor, referring to both the industrial company and government officials. “There is no way people don’t get sick, because we need help over here and we’re not getting it.”
Last year, Louisiana became the focal point for the erosion of civil rights protections against environmental injustice. A state court case stopped the federal government from using the Civil Rights Act to block the expansion of toxic facilities in Black communities.
https://capitalbnews.org/louisiana-oil-plant-explosion/
Daughter of Smitty's Supply executive says no one is to blame for fire in Roseland at plant
ROSELAND — As of Tuesday morning, Smitty's Supply has not released a statement on the explosion that sent ash across Roseland and the surrounding areas on Friday.
One of the executives' daughters, Bethany Tate, however, has taken to Facebook to ask for prayers for her family.
She said that no one is to blame for the fire.
https://www.wbrz.com/news/daughter-of-smitty-s-supply-owner-says-no-one-is-to-blame-for-fire-in-roseland-at-father-s-plant/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Will get help. The people they poisoned, not so much.
