Neighbors concerned over Rubbertown chemical spills
Many upset over Rubbertown chemical spills
Tabnie Dozier , WHAS 9:32 AM. CDT June 14, 2016
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Two contained chemical spills from two different chemical plants in the last week has Chickasaw and Algonquin neighbors saying enough is enough.
Many in the Rubbertown area say not only does it smell but they're tired of chemical spills becoming a common occurrence.
WHAS11 News received word about the spills courtesy of strong Twitter posts from Kentucky State Representative-Elect Attica Scott. Her district 41 covers parts of Chickasaw and Algonquin and she says the Rubbertown area stinks.
“I had to go and one educate people on social media because many people won’t' know that this happened because it was kind of pushed under the rug...oh it was a chemical spill but there's no harm that we anticipate,” she explained.
The Air Pollution Control District says there were two minor chemical spills last week, an alert sent out to neighbors, it says the public was not at risk and we’re told the chemicals stayed on the plant's property.
For Eboni Cochran who lives nearby, she says that isn't good enough.
“We are adjacent to a cluster of chemical plants and those chemical plants have been bad actors for years and some of their toxins have been left in our parks,” Cochran states.
City leaders say emissions of toxic chemicals have declined significantly from Rubbertown in the decade since the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction program was implemented by the city.
“We need our Mayor to make sure he is prioritizing in his budget, air pollution control and we need to make sure the Governor is prioritizing any kind of financial support that he can give to air monitoring at the state level,” Scott added.
Cochran and Scott say more attention needs to be focused on the air they breathe.
"Bring back air monitoring in the neighborhood so we know what we're being exposed to and at what level,” Cochran added. “They need to be as courageous as Ali because none of us deserve to be smelling this stuff." An area known for its smells and industrial ways, neighbors and some elected leaders say the more monitoring, the better.