National group says Shell cracker plant in Beaver County is polluting air

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — A national group says the brand new Shell cracker plant in Beaver County is polluting the air.

There are community watch dogs spread throughout the area watching the plant.

On top of that, the PA Department of Environmental Protection is tracking the pollution and both said the numbers are off the charts.

“This is not what a good neighbor does. A good neighbor does not expose their workers or their community members to this level of egregious pollution,” said Lisa Graves-Marcucci with The Environmental Integrity Project.

Graves-Marcucci is speaking out about the level of pollution community groups are seeing coming out of the Shell cracker plant.

“These limits are put in place to safeguard public health and to have a facility emit more than their yearly limits in several categories is unacceptable and can’t persist,” Graves-Marcucci said.

That’s why the Environmental Integrity Project and Clean Air Council sent Shell a letter with the intent to sue over these violations.

While Shell has 60 days to respond before anything is filed, a spokesperson did send a statement to Channel 11.

“We are in the process of reviewing the notice. Shell Polymers remains committed to safe, environmentally responsible operations, and will abide by all applicable laws and regulations,” said Curtis Smith with Shell.

These groups said they are willing to work with the company before taking things to court.

“We’ve never seen this type of exposure before and how long is this going to be allowed to persist and what do the long term or short-term consequences mean,” Graves-Marcucci said.

If a lawsuit is filed, it will be a citizen suit meaning these advocacy groups will be filing on behalf of the community and anyone impacted by this pollution.

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