"As oily rain fell on Roseland, where 90% of kids live in poverty, the Trump administration is considering gutting chemical-disaster safeguards."
"ROSELAND, La. — Tyreik Taylor had barely wiped the oil from his hands when the sky behind him lit up.
Fifteen minutes after the 26-year-old drove home, a roar thundered from the plant where he helped mix chemicals for motor oil and had just punched out. Fire consumed the air, the collapsing metal groaning and liquids hissing as they escaped into the surrounding water, soil, and air. From his yard, he saw neighbors pointing at the rising smoke, not knowing he had been inside the plant only minutes before.
On Aug. 22, a catastrophic explosion erupted at Smitty’s Supply, a major lubricant manufacturing facility in a predominantly Black town about 60 miles northeast of Baton Rouge. The blaze swept through the 15-acre complex that housed half a million gallons of flammable materials. By Aug. 29, the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed toxic substances were found in soot following the Smitty’s Supply explosion. An analysis of water and soil following the explosion detected arsenic, barium, chromium, lead, and other hazardous materials like cancer-causing nitrobenzene. The agency maintains the position that the toxins are not a threat to human health.
Oily droplets spattered from the smoky sky as far as 20 miles away, coating rooftops, cars, and front lawns in a slick, shimmering film that glistened like tar. "
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