Blue Vinyl and Environmental Racism

One of the homeowners photographs the house movers taking her house to a new location, documenting for one last time her Mossville property.	The move from Mossville through the St. Charles streets emphasizes the loss these residents sustained because their town was turned into an environmental disaster.

In the documentary Blue Vinyl, ailing or deceased employees in Venice and Lake Charles and residents in Lake Charles and Mossville, Louisiana highlight the human costs of a violation of rights and environmental justice. To prove that PVC causes cancer and that residents are breathing PVC too, testing buckets are created to measure toxic exposures and warn residents in Lake Charles. When tested, the air was found to be full of chloride and other chemicals, and those toxins also contaminated nearby water sources. 

The most extreme environmental consequence of PVC and dioxin revealed by the film, however, transforms environmental injustice into environmental racism, when residents of Mossville, a predominantly African American community in the region, are forced to leave because PVC toxins from area factories have contaminated their water. As further evidence of blatant environmental injustice and racism, these residents are not only left without a community but also without recourse for future health issues. In order to sell their homes at low prices, the PVC companies required all residents sign an agreement that they would not file suit against the company if they developed health problems caused by the contamination. 

Clearly, these residents have lost their right to a secure, healthy, and ecologically sound environment. A for sale sign illustrates the environmental racism caused by dioxins contaminating an entire water source. All citizens were forced to leave their community because of the toxic water produced by PVC leakage. After signing release forms with the PVC industry, a Mossville home is moved to a new location. One of the homeowners photographs the house movers taking her house to a new location, documenting for one last time her Mossville property. The move from Mossville through the St. Charles streets emphasizes the loss these residents sustained because their town was turned into an environmental disaster. 

A for sale sign illustrates the environmental racism caused by dioxins contaminating an entire water source. All citizens were forced to leave their community because of the toxic water produced by PVC leakage.	After signing release forms with the PVC industry, a Mossville home is moved to a new location.