DuPont Dodges Class Suit Over Louisiana Neoprene Plant

E.I. DuPont de Nemours and the Louisiana Department of Health evaded a class action over chemical releases from a neoprene plant after a Fifth Circuit ruling Tuesday holding that the plaintiff failed to state a claim.

Neighbors of the Pontchartrain Works facility alleged the manufacture of synthetic rubber neoprene emits levels of chloroprene well above the upper limit of acceptable risk, resulting in a cancer risk more than 800 times the national average.

Juanea Butler filed the class action in state court against current plant owner Denka Performance Elastomer LLC, former owner DuPont, and Louisiana on behalf of those who ...