Manufacturing plant emits cancer causing pollutants - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Life-threatening toxins are leaking from a Lowndes County manufacturing facility.

The SABIC plastics plant on U.S. Highway 80--what used to be GE Plastics--is forced to pay $1 million dollars for failing to comply with federal environmental regulations.

The chemicals coming from the plant have nearby residents Sam Howard, Barbara Evans and Elvis Harrison on edge.

"I don't want to end up one day saying I have cancer because of someone wanting to make money," says Howard.

According to a report released by the Environmental Protection Agency, the SABIC plant recently violated 14 Clean Air Act requirements.

Some of them include:

--Failure to monitor and repair leaking equipment

--Failure to comply with chemical plant regulations

--Failure to properly monitor potential leaks

--Failure to fix leaks in a timely fashion

The report says the leaking pollutants can cause serious health effects like cancer, reproductive issues and birth defects.

However, WSFA 12 News is not aware of any reports of illness.

"It may take five years, ten years and then all of a sudden you are affected," says Howard.

"I'm afraid that we could have a discharge and a lot of people could wind up being injured or killed," says Harrison.

The EPA fined the company more than $1-million dollars insisting it improves emissions practices immediately.

"I think if they knew the community was involved, I think they'd be more careful," says Evans.

Community members aren't asking for much from folks at the plant. What they really want is a little more openness and transparency.

"I think I would like for them to go on and fix the problem and let the people know what's going on around the plant," says Howard.

"I certainly hope it's not going to be a problem because like Sam said, we have to live here," adds Evans.

SABIC executives released this statement saying:

"Protecting the environment and preserving our natural resources are important to the communities in which we operate and important to SABIC.  100% compliance is our goal with all applicable state and federal regulations and, where possible, we strive to go beyond regulatory compliance to achieve safety and environmental excellence for our employees and community.  We continually strive to minimize our impact on the environment and implement projects to incorporate environmentally-friendly programs.  Several of the manufacturing sites in the US were the subject of routine compliance audits initiated by the EPA in 2005.  The EPA inspections broadly evaluated environmental compliance status, which was found to be very good in most areas.  However, they revealed concerns in air compliance programs at two of the sites that we acquired in 2007.  The company immediately began to address the concerns following the inspections and, in addition, implemented further programs to ensure full compliance going forward."

The EPA report says when SABIC complies with the regulations it will reduce hazardous emissions by 144 tons per year.

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