Governor Foster and Shintech's Attempt to Buy-Off Communities Ba

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GOVERNOR FOSTER'S AND SHINTECH'S ATTEMPTS TO BUY-OFF COMMUNITIES
BACKFIRE; TIMES-PICAYUNE POLL SHOWS SHINTECH HAS CREDIBILITY
PROBLEM

CONVENT, LOUISIANA, January 19, 1998 -- Greenpeace Southern
Regional Representative Damu Smith said today that key results
of a New Orleans Times-Picayune poll published yesterday
regarding the controversial proposal by Shintech to build a
vinyl plastics facility in Convent, Louisiana, clearly show that
a majority of citizens in the 4th District oppose Shintech. 
Those who live closest to the plant's proposed site oppose it
most strongly.  These findings fly in the face of claims made by
Louisiana Governor Mike Foster and Shintech plant supporters
that the African American community supports the building of the
Shintech plant because of promises of jobs.

According to the poll, 52 percent of citizens in the 4th
District oppose the plant.  It was citizens from Convent who
opposed the plant, and on whose behalf Greenpeace and Tulane
University's Environmental Law Clinic co-wrote a complaint
against Shintech, which was filed with the US Environmental
Protection Agency.  Seventy-two percent thought Shintech would
harm the environment a little or a lot.

"Governor Foster's campaign of lies and disinformation, his
recognized efforts to buy off groups and individuals, and his
attacks on and investigations of Shintech opponents has
backfired," Smith said.  "People don't want this facility, and
the Governor, Shintech, the state Department of Environmental
Quality, and Shintech's paid backers should cease their
deplorable antics to thwart the will of the people."

Responding to the characterization in the Times-Picayune that
Greenpeace did not fare well in the poll, Smith said,  "our
reading of the poll results is quite the opposite.  When asked
did they favor Greenpeace only 37% parishwide and 27% in the 4th
District said they did not."  Smith added that no other group in
Louisiana has been so maligned and attacked by industry than
Greenpeace.  "In the face of this long, well financed and
relentless disinformation campaign via the media and other means
by the vinyl industry and big business against us, these numbers
are in fact quite impressive."   

Also underscoring Shintech's credibility gap is the poll's
indication that the promise of jobs for the community of Convent
sounded hollow to a majority of 4th District citizens.  Sixty-
three percent of respondents do not believe that businesses that
build facilities in minority areas keep their promise of
providing jobs for local residents, versus only 9 percent who do
believe it. 

>From the beginning of its involvement in the battle against
Shintech, Greenpeace has sought to expose the dangers associated
with vinyl production, and has charged that the attempt to
locate the plant in a predominantly African American and
impoverished area is an act of environmental racism.  The case
has become a national cause celebre for environmental justice
activists who see it as a precedent-setting test case of the
federal government's commitment to enforcing the President's
Executive Order on Environmental Justice.

In blocking Shintech's permits in September, EPA Administrator
Carol Browner wrote, "It is essential the minority and low-
income communities not be disproportionately subjected to
environmental hazards."  Browner advised the state of Louisiana
to conduct further public hearings, slated for January 23 and
24, which will be attended by national environmental justice
leaders and national EPA officials. 

-- End --

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