Petrochemical Pollution on Puerto Rico's Southern Coast

Puerto Rico's southern coast hosts a concentration of petrochemical facilities, including oil refineries and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, that have contaminated air, water, and soil for decades.

Industrial History:
- In the 1950s-1960s, Operation Bootstrap brought petrochemical industries to Puerto Rico's southern coast with tax incentives and minimal environmental regulation
- Commonwealth Oil Refining Company (CORCO) operated a major refinery in Peñuelas from 1955 until its closure in the 1980s
- Phillips Petroleum, Union Carbide, PPG Industries, and other corporations operated chemical plants
- The area around Guayanilla Bay became known as Puerto Rico's "petrochemical corridor"

Environmental Contamination:
- Multiple EPA Superfund sites in the region
- Groundwater contamination from industrial waste
- Air pollution from refinery emissions
- Soil contamination with heavy metals and petrochemical compounds
- Jobos Bay, a critical mangrove ecosystem, has been contaminated by industrial runoff

Health Impact:
- Communities surrounding industrial facilities report elevated rates of cancer, respiratory disease, and reproductive problems
- Studies have documented higher-than-expected rates of childhood asthma
- Environmental justice organizations have documented a pattern of industrial siting in low-income communities
- Health studies have been limited, and affected communities have struggled to access epidemiological data

Colonial Environmental Racism: The concentration of polluting industries on Puerto Rico's southern coast follows a classic pattern of environmental racism and colonial extraction:
- Industries came for tax incentives and lax regulation, not to serve the local market
- Profits flowed to mainland corporations
- Environmental costs were borne by local communities
- When industries left, they left contamination behind
- Cleanup has been slow and incomplete

Puerto Rico's colonial status means its residents cannot vote for the EPA administrator, the president who appoints them, or the congressional representatives who fund environmental enforcement — yet they bear the environmental consequences of federal policy decisions.