Federal official appealed Louisiana Chemical maker, claiming that it presented an unsatisfactory cancer risk to the nearby black minority community and urged them to cut back emissions.

Denka Performance Elastomer LLC makes synthetic rubber, emitting the carcinogen chloroprene and other chemicals in high concentrations that it poses cancer risk, according to the federal complaint.

The former DuPont plant has made less emissions over time, but the Justice Department, appearing on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the plant still represents "an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare,'' including elevated cancer risks.

Denka’s facility makes neoprene which is a synthetic rubber used to make common goods such as wetsuits, hoses, automotive belts, and laptops. Chloroprene is a liquid raw material used to produce neoprene and is emitted into the air from various minority areas at the facility.