Showing his brazen disregard for the environmental welfare of St. Louis, Francis Slay reported accepting two $5,000.00 contributions on February 9 from Holcim, Inc., a Swiss-based company set to open the world’s largest cement plant in Ste. Genevieve later this year.

The plant, opposed by the American Bottom Conservancy, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, and the St.. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Page, negatively impacts endangered species habitats and will increase ozone pollution in St. Louis City after its completion by emitting 20 tons of nitrogen oxides a day in addition to dangerous sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and coarse particulate matter.

After previously citing the project’s potential to harm St. Louisans with asthma, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2004 editorialized that the Holcim plant was “…a costly mistake” and “…a bad deal for Missouri.” St. Louis has been cited as the worst place for asthma suffers to live.

Holcim’s poor corporate citizenship extends beyond its record of environmental degradation and includes broken promises to its employees and to other Missouri communities. Following its refusal in 2002 to pay $700,000 in school taxes to Pike County, Holcim assured local officials that it would continue operations at its cement plant near Clarksville.

In November 2008, however, Holcim announced that it will close its Clarksville plant by April 2009, eliminating 181 jobs and the Pike County R-III School District’s largest taxpayer.

Comments

comments