Our ‘good neighbor’ Formosa Plastics: petrochemical damage(s) and the meanings of money

Quantifying available energy and anthropogenic energy use in the Mississippi River Basin

“…This intensely operationalised landscape continues to cause damage to human health and the local and regional environment, particularly in the Gulf, as occurred with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and along the lower river where petrochemical industries cluster and affect local air quality and human health (Colten, 2012). Among other petrochemical products, these industries produce vast quantities of plastics that are exported planet-wide, contributing to a novel cycle of damaging sedimentary material within the Earth system (Gabbot et al, 2020: 54; Jobin, 2020). This industrial geography partly results from Louisiana’s comparatively lax regulations, which allowed land between Baton Rouge and New Orleans to become informally designated as an expendable sacrifice zone, a ‘Chemical Corridor’ in which health has been ceded to profit and productivity (Allen, 2006; Colten, 2012; Steininger, 2021).…”

The tenacity of trust in petrochemical communities: Reckoning with risk on the Fawley Waterside (1997–2019)

“…Through a local public relations campaign, via corporate communication on their webpage, the ‘Community Matters’ magazine distributed locally, and at community events, the company presents itself as the backbone of the local economy, an important, enduring element of local community life and as a responsible neighbour, echoing the narratives deployed by polluting firms to placate surrounding community members elsewhere (e.g. Bell and York, 2010; Jobin, 2020). At the same time, the negative aspects of the company's history in the area, such as accidents, industrial pollution or labour struggles, are omitted from such corporate accounts.…”

“…Compensation payments, alongside the ‘good neighbour’ public relations strategies and diverse forms of corporate patronage described earlier, form a part of what Jobin (2020) refers to as ‘fuel money’, tending to legitimise pollution and shape community grievances. However, the findings suggest that flows of money from Esso do not mean that chronic pollution, latent health impacts and the ever-present threat of industrial accidents are accepted by local residents.…”

Visualizing Taiwan's Formosa Plastics

“…Following a series of accidents and explosions at the Sixth Naphtha Cracker Complex in 2010, Formosa increased its investment in the local community and presence as a "good neighbor" [10]. The snapshot of the security car is one of many examples of infrastructure that the company is providing to the Mailiao township (Figure 6).…”

“…News coverage of air pollution is at the center of the courtroom sketch shown in Figure 7. It was drawn by sociologist Paul Jobin during the proceedings of a toxic tort suit started by fenceline community residents in Yunlin (see also [10]). On the day of a court hearing in January 2017, Formosa Plastics made headlines for having falsified air pollution data.…”