Largest vinyl chloride polluters
PVC Poison Plastic: An investigation following the Ohio train derailment of widespread vinyl chloride pollution caused by PVC production
The largest vinyl chloride polluters
- Vinyl chloride and PVC plants reported releasing 414,803 pounds of vinyl chloride into the air in the U.S. in 2021.
- The six largest vinyl chloride polluting plants include a total of three Westlake Chemical plants in Kentucky and Louisiana, a Formosa plant in Texas, and two Orbia (Mexichem) plants in New Jersey and Illinois.
In the United States, vinyl chloride and PVC plants are primarily concentrated in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Illinois, and Mississippi. In 2021, vinyl chloride and PVC plants reported the following cumulative releases of vinyl chloride into the air:
- 138,577 pounds in Texas
- 117,526 pounds in Kentucky
- 110,399 pounds in Louisiana
- 24,407 pounds of in New Jersey
- 19,115 pounds of in Illinois
- 4,779 pounds of in Mississippi
Vinyl chloride and PVC plants that reported releasing vinyl chloride into the air
| Vinyl chloride / PVC plant – Location | Pounds of vinyl chloride air releases (2021 TRI) |
|---|---|
| Westlake – Calvert City, KY | 116,382 |
| Formosa – Point Comfort, TX | 68,346 |
| Westlake – Westlake, LA | 21,137 |
| Orbia (Mexichem) – Pedricktown, NJ | 20,478 |
| Westlake – Geismar, LA | 19,300 |
| Orbia (Mexichem) – Henry, IL | 19,115 |
| Westlake – Plaquemine, LA | 18,914 |
| Formosa – Baton Rouge, LA | 18,249 |
| Shintech – Freeport, TX | 17,721 |
| Shintech – Plaquemine, LA | 16,265 |
| Occidental – Pasadena, TX | 15,598 |
| Occidental – Ingleside, TX | 15,008 |
| Occidental – Deer Park, TX | 14,557 |
| Shintech – Addis, LA | 11,264 |
| Occidental – La Porte, TX | 7,347 |
| Westlake – Westlake, LA | 5,270 |
| Westlake – Aberdeen, MS | 4,779 |
| Occidental – Pedricktown, NJ | 3,929 |
| Lubrizol – Louisville, KY | 1,144 |
More than 10 billion pounds of vinyl chloride are produced in the U.S. annually
- PVC plastics companies produced 10 to 20 billion pounds of vinyl chloride in the U.S. in 2019, according to the EPA.
- Two major companies, Westlake and Occidental Chemical, failed to disclose some of their production to EPA and the public.
Formosa Plastics, Shintech, and Westlake Chemical reported producing a total of more than 8 billion pounds of vinyl chloride in the United States in 2019. Occidental Chemical and other Westlake Chemical facilities withheld their production volumes as “confidential business information,” so the public cannot get full information on production volumes. Together, according to the EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting tool, vinyl chloride and PVC chemical companies reported production of between 10 and 20 billion pounds of vinyl chloride in the U.S. in 2019.
These carcinogenic chemicals are shipped on railroads across the country, posing risks to communities while crisscrossing the nation, as was seen in East Palestine, Ohio.
Read the report
- I.Introduction
- II.Not an isolated incident
- III.Largest vinyl chloride polluters
- IV.PVC plastic and environmental justice
- V.Interactive Map
- VI.Vinyl chloride and toxic waste
- VII.Safer Solutions
- VIII.Methodology
- IX.Credits and Creative Commons License
- X.References