For more than a century, industrial plants have been located in or near impoverished areas. Whether the plants preceded the residents or vice versa, citizen complaints about local pollution and its negative effects on their health have often gone unheard. Increasingly, communities affected by local industrial plants have garnered more attention and action by highlighting inequities in protecting the health of all citizens, regardless of their neighborhood or socioeconomic status. Many power plants lining the Ohio River are perfect examples of historical siting of industrial complexes without regard to local community health impacts. Currently, a big fight is occurring at potential sites of new petrochemical plants along the river designed to use methane and other products from fracking as feedstock to manufacture chemicals used to make household and commercial products. ORF is supporting the effort to rebut these plants. The state of Ohio supports the projects for their potential economic value. However, in late 2020, one of two major multinational companies pulled out of the project.
Environmental Justice
