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We are REACT!

We are the power of the people fighting for environmental justice.

For too long chemical factories in Rubbertown have poisoned our air; For too long Louisville politicians have made empty promises; For too long our family and friends have died of cancer; For too long our children have struggled to breathe. Now it's time for us to REACT!

Rubbertown Emergency Action, Or REACT is Louisville's campaign to stop toxic air pollution coming from ten chemical plants located in the Rubbertown area of Louisville. Air monitors located in neighborhoods surrounding the chemical plants revealed that residents have been breathing in at least 18 toxic chemicals at levels sometimes as high as 540 times the health threshold established by the EPA. The 18 toxic chemicals detected by the air monitors, chemicals such as 1,3-butadiene and vinyl chloride, can cause cancer.

React is a campaign of Rubbertown residents who have finally said, "Enough! We're not taking it anymore," and are taking action to end Rubbertown's 'killer air.' We believe that breathing clean air is a fundamental human right. We intend to use every avenue and tool available to us - legislative, political, judicial, as well as non-violent direct action, to ensure that our children will not have to breathe the same dirty and dangerous air that their grandparents and parents have for all of their lives.

Many of the people engaged in this fight recognize that it may be too late for us to escape the unhealthy effect of breathing toxic air pollution. Some of us are already sick. But it is not too late for our children and it is for them we fight. Because we want a healthier future for our children, we refuse to stand silently by while chemical plants continue to poison our air. We will not tire; we will not falter; we will not fail. WE ARE THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE!

Contact us at:
reactlouisville@hotmail.com

Website designed and maintained by: the blackout media project and autonomy labs.

Read Courier Journal Editorial:
It's time to act on Revised STAR plan

Air Pollution Board says:
It's time to move ahead.

(January13, 2004) In a special called meeting, the Metro Louisville Air Pollution Control Board approved a resolution to begin a 30-day formal comment period for Mayor Jerry Abramson's Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) program. With a 6 to 1 vote, board members turned back efforts of Greater Louisville Inc. and one board member, Lee Howard, to postpone the board's vote on the comment period for one week and then extend the length of the comment period past the legally required 30 days. Mr. Howard is employed as an engineer at Noveon Chemicals in Rubbertown. Instead the board voted to hold a 30-day comment period to begin the next day, January 14, and conclude on February 14.

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Air Pollution Control District Releases Second Draft of STAR Program

(January 12, 2004) The second draft of the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction Plan, along with the district's responses to public comments, can be read at www.apcd.org.

REACT continues to support the approval and implementation of the STAR program and will post its comments in its website as soon as they are completed.

Zeon Chemicals to Pay $10.5 M Fine for Felony Price-Fixing

(January 13, 2004) Zeon Chemicals L.P., a Rubbertown chemical plant and the U.S. subsidiary of Zeon Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with a one count felony for participating with unnamed co-conspirators to suppress and eliminate competition in the market for a synthetic rubber known as NBR, used in the manufacture of hoses, belts, adhesives and sealants. Zeon has agreed to pay a $10.5 million criminal fine and cooperate with the Department of Justice in its ongoing investigation of the rubber chemical industry.

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From Bhopal to Rubbertown: The Fight For Environmental Justice Reaches Across the World

(December 4, 2004) People traveled from five states to join REACT members in Louisville, KY, in marking the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal, India, industrial chemical leak that killed thousands of people. Activists from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado and Texas held candles and joined hands with Rubbertown residents in front of the DuPont Dow Elastomers plant in Rubbertown and listened to testimonies written by Bhopal survivors and people living near Rubbertown's 11 chemical plants.

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Toxic Air Reduction Plan Is Out!

(September 16) Louisville's much anticipated and long awaited toxic air pollution reduction plan has been released to the public and can be seen at:

In the coming weeks, REACT will be consulting with environmental consultants and organizations to evaluate the plan and submit recommendations to the Air Pollution Control District.

Watch for further information on this website.

REACT's September Newsletter

REACT Protests Lack of City Plan to End Air Pollution in Rubbertown

(July 18) REACT members gathered in front of Zeon Chemicals this afternoon to protest the city's failure to unveil regulations that will significantly reduce toxic air emissions from the 11 chemical plants in Rubbertown, Louisville's industrial area. Holding letters that spelled out 'STOP TOXIC AIR', the group chanted "We want clean air now" to express its frustration that a plan city officials claim they are working on still has not been completed or made public.

In a flier distributed throughout Rubbertown neighborhoods and to the media, REACT points out that while the city drags it feet on releasing a pollution plan, air monitors in Rubbertown indicate that the chemical plants are continuing to release unsafe levels of toxic chemicals into the air.

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REACT Joins DuPont Workers to Denounce Plan to Use Replacement Workers

(July 23, 2004) REACT members and Rubbertown residents joined local union leaders representing DuPont chemical workers in a joint press conference to denounce plans that would have management and replacement workers operating the Rubbertown chemical plant in the event of a strike. After working almost three years without a contract, members of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy International Union (PACE) voted last week to authorize a strike.

One PACE member advised Rubbertown residents "to move" if replacement workers are brought in to keep the plant operating. "I wouldn't want to live near in those neighborhoods," he said.

Home in Riverside Gardens with relocation sign.

Riverside Gardens Remember Friends, Neighbors and Family Members in Struggle for Environmental Justice

(July 4, 2004) While most people spent their Fourth of July in the traditional way by barbecuing, shooting fireworks and waving flags, a group of Riverside Garden residents gathered to mark the holiday in a different way: They memorialized and protested the deaths of loved ones in their community. Deaths that were caused by corporate indifference and greed, residents claim. Riverside Gardens is located along the fence line of Borden Chemical and in the vicinity of 10 other chemical plants. Given that the Declaration of Independence was as much a protest of the abusive business practices and greed of Great Britain's major corporations as it was to declare independence from Great Britain's royal government, Riverside Gardens' demonstration may have been more in line with the original spirit of Independence Day than ways we commonly associate with the holiday.

Louisville Metro Council Approves City Budget With Fully Funded Toxic Air Pollution Plan

(June 25, 2004) In a 25 to 1 vote, Louisville's metro council approved a $693 million budget with $702,000 designated for a new comprehensive toxic air pollution reduction plan. REACT hailed the vote as a key victory in the campaign to end toxic air pollution in Rubbertown and a signal that city officials are finally paying attention to Rubbertown residents exposed to dangerously high levels of toxic air pollution from Rubbertown's 11 chemical plants.

REACT launched an intense four week lobbying effort immediately following Louisville's Mayor Jerry Abramson announcement that his budget included funds for a toxic air pollution plan.

Feels like another summer in Louisville
Smells like another summer in Rubbertown

Rubbertown's 'good neighbors' still release dangerous levels of toxics!

(June 20, 2004) In spite of promises that they want to be good neighbors in Rubbertown, chemical plants located in Louisville's industrial area continue to emit unhealthy levels of toxic chemicals into Rubbertown neighborhoods. On May 9, an air monitor detected one chemical, chloroprene, at its highest level since monitoring began in 2000. Chloroprene is associated with cancer in humans. DuPont Dow is the only chemical plant in Rubbertown to release that toxic chemical into the air. The May reading was more than double the previous highest reading detected in June 2002.

(June 4, 2004) Louisville's Mayor Jerry Abramson has announced that $702,000 of his proposed $692 million budget will be allocated to a toxic air pollution reduction plan scheduled to be released later this summer. REACT supports the mayor's funding for this plan and encourages people to contact metro council members and encourage them to fully fund the toxic air pollution reduction plan. For information about contacting metro council members about this critical issue...

REACT suspicious of visit from
KY Environmental Secretary:
Why is she showing up now?

REACT members Gracie Lewis and Alice Wade protest in front of NIA Center before meeting with Kentucky Environmental Secretary.

(May 21, 2004) REACT members forcefully told LaJuana S. Wilcher, secretary of the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, that Louisville's environmental agency was better suited to stop toxic air pollution from Rubbertown chemical plants than the state office and that the appropriate role for her agency and Gov. Fletcher was to support a local toxic air control program scheduled to be unveiled later this summer.

"For years, the state could have cared less about Rubbertown residents and the high levels of toxic air pollution they were breathing from nearby chemical plants," said one REACT member. "Now that the city is about to implement a plan that will hopefully deal with the problem, the state suddenly wants to get involved - the timing looks suspicious."

The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District can pass air pollution laws stricter than federal regulations. The state, however, is prohibited from doing so. It is for this reason that REACT considers Wilcher's visit a troubling signal that Rubbertown companies are pressing Gov. Fletcher to block pending local regulations. Earlier in the day, Wilcher met privately with several Rubbertown chemical plants.

Downtown Office Buildings get Homeland Security Funds while Toxic Chemicals are Left Unguarded in West Louisville

In the Courier Journal (CJ) (April 22, 2004), it was reported that Louisville metro government would receive a $3,000,0000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The newspaper goes on to report that grant monies would be used to "upgrade security throughout Jefferson County."

Some of the projects are a necessity such as security at the Louisville Water Company's treatment plants and pumping stations. However, the CJ also reported that visitors would no longer have to enter through a basement loading dock after upgrades are made. So while homeland security funds are used to provide convenience for visitors, toxic chemicals are left unguarded on railroad tracks on Algonquin Parkway. Residents should be in an uproar.

"Press '1' if you are still alive."
City's call in alert system fails Rubbertown residents

Second explosion in five months rocks Borden Chemical and nearby neighborhoods.

(April 28, 2004) A loud explosion yesterday morning inside Borden Chemical, the second in five months at the troubled Rubbertown chemical plant, alarmed nearby residents who again gathered at Borden's front gate to demand information about an incident inside the facility. The alarm in frightened resident's voices was the only alarm anyone heard, however. The much heralded alarm and notification system announced last month by the Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency failed to alert or provide any information about the explosion until three hours after the sudden noise shook people's houses.

"The only alarm I think the chemical plants and city are interested in will be the one that notifies them that the situation is clear for emergency workers to begin carrying our bodies out after an explosion or a chemical leak," expressed one angry resident of Riverside Gardens, a neighborhood located next to Borden Chemical.

A Victory for REACT: Voluntary Agreements Not Strong Enough For Air Pollution Board

With over 1,200 signed cards, 67 letters and the impassioned testimonies of several people who live near Rubbertown chemical plants, Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT) sent a clear and powerful message to Metro Louisville's Air Pollution Control Board that the voluntary agreements submitted by four Rubbertown chemical plants were too weak and stronger measures were needed to end toxic air pollution in Rubbertown. The seven members of the Air Pollution Control Board agreed and voted unanimously to reject the agreements.

REACT tells Mayor: Voluntary agreements with chemical plants not good enough!

(February 24, 2004) In an hour long meeting with Louisville's Mayor Jerry Abramson, a delegation of REACT members strongly expressed their dissatisfaction with voluntary agreements submitted by four Rubbertown chemical plants. Calling the voluntary agreements a public relations stunt so that the chemical plants could present a public image that they care about the environment, REACT challenged the mayor to develop clear, challenging, legally binding regulations for every chemical plant in Rubbertown. The mayor agreed and said that such a plan would be released by his administration within the next two months.

Metro Council President says city should look at Rubbertown buyout

(February 6, 2004) In statements made to the Courier Journal, Metro Council President Kelly Downard proposed that a buy-out of houses and property could be a solution for people who live near Rubbertown's 11 chemical plants and are exposed to dangerously high levels of toxic air pollution. Mr. Downard's comments came after two REACT members, Terri Humphrey and Robert Willibaum, spoke to metro council members about their fears of living near a chemical plant and their frustration that the metro council has not addressed air pollution in Rubbertown, Louisville's industrial area. Ms. Humphrey and Mr. Willibaum live in a neighborhood beside Borden Chemical.

REACT Challenges Mayor on Radio Program

(February 3, 2004) REACT members cornered Mayor Jerry Abramson during a radio call-in show and blasted him for still not having a plan to reduce toxic air pollution from Rubbertown's 11 chemical plants after a report released last year revealed that Rubbertown residents are exposed to dangerously high levels of hazardous air pollutants. The group also pressed the mayor to meet with Rubbertown residents to discuss a buy out of Rubbertown homes.

REACT Meets with Rubbertown Union Leaders

(Jan. 28, 2004) Representatives of REACT met for three hours with union leaders of three Rubbertown chemical plants to open a dialogue between community residents concerned about toxic air pollution from Rubbertown chemical plants and workers who fear that management of the chemical plants may decide to close the plants.

"It was a powerful meeting that should make management of every chemical plant go home and take their tranquilizers with a double martini," one participant commented.

National 'Coming Clean Campaign' Picks Louisville, KY for Annual Meeting
Organizers To Stay in So. Indiana to Honor Boycott

(Jan. 25, 2004) A nation-wide coalition of individuals and organizations formed to focus attention on the harmful effects of toxic chemicals released by the chemical industry will gather this year in Louisville for their annual conference. Citing recent studies that show that people living in Rubbertown, Louisville's industrial area, are exposed to dangerously high levels of several toxic chemicals, Coming Clean organizers hope that the four-day meeting will cause Louisville to be recognized in the same way people see Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' - a place where chemical industries have taken advantage of little or no regulations for emissions on toxic chemicals and where politicians are more concerned about keeping chemical industries happy than protecting the health of the community.

Protesters tell Borden Chemicals: Elsie the Cow Wouldn't Live Here
Weekly demonstrations continue in front of Rubbertown chemical plants

(Jan. 5, 2004) When residents of Riverside Gardens were told that Borden was building a factory next to their neighborhood they thought of containers of milk and ice cream with a picture of Elsie, Borden’s well-known cow, printed on the front. They didn't know that Borden also operates chemical plants that release thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air and that a skull and cross bones would be a more appropriate symbol for the factory being built next door. In their second protest in front of the chemical plant, residents put the company on notice that they would no longer tolerate the company's pollution.

REACT Pledges to Turn up Heat on Local Politicians

Toxic Air Pollution to be a Campaign Issue in 2004 Races

(December 23, 2003) Saying that too many local politicians have been able to 'pass the buck' when it came to dealing with toxic air pollution from Rubbertown chemical plants, members of the Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT) steering committee pledged to make the issue a hot one in upcoming local elections. Although REACT members were satisfied with their meetings with state senator Gerald Neal and metro council member Mary Woolridge , they have become increasingly frustrated at the unwillingness of local politicians to act on an issue that has been acknowledged as a serious problem in Louisville, particularity in communities located near Rubbertown, Louisville's industrial area. The U.S. Environmental Agency has given Jefferson County jurisdiction to pass regulations that restrict emissions of air pollution.

Explosion at Borden Chemical Rocks nearby Community

(Dec. 22, 2003) Residents of Riverside Garden, a neighborhood situated along the fence line of Borden Chemicals in Louisville's Rubbertown industrial area, were startled late Sunday night by an explosion that shook their houses and their nerves. Some residents reported that they also saw flames inside the chemical plant.