Film Review: Company Town

David Bouie (foreground) and Chery Slavant in Crossett, Arkansas

Where people live determines what diseases they may develop throughout their lives, and even how long they will live. Through the lens of “social determinants of health,” we know that healthy people and communities are supported by adequate access to social and economic opportunities; clean water, food, and air; and community resources that provide social engagement and security. The well-being of people and places are at the crux of healthy outcomes.

By these measures, the town of Crossett, Ark. is in serious trouble. The film “Company Town” tells the struggle of the people of Crossett in fighting against assaults to their health by the Georgia-Pacific paper mill and chemical plant that, ironically, employs many town residents. In a town where almost everyone knows someone who has died of cancer, environmental justice is at the center of community organizing and advocacy among Crossett residents.

At the helm of the fight to keep Georgia-Pacific accountable to the residents of Crossett is the most unlikely activist: David Bouie, a Baptist minister and deputy sheriff who, like many of his neighbors in Crossett, was or are currently employed by Georgia-Pacific. The chemical plant employs more than 1,000 of the town’s 5,000 residents.

“How many of us have to die in order to keep one job?” he asks. The film documents the ravages of the plant’s operations on Crossett’s air and water. Billowing clouds carry pollutants in the air 24 hours a day. Residents report the constant stench that smell of rotten eggs. Waters that flow in creeks that deposit into the Ouachita River are brown, grimey or “sudsy” – bubbly gray slime that makes your throat itch when you breathe in its fumes.

Crossett school district in the first percentile for exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. The township is located in Ashley County, Ark., which has the highest rate of cancer cases and deaths from cancer in the United States.

Filmed over the course of nearly four years, Company Town offers first-hand accounts from a wide range of residents in Crossett’s “cancer cluster,” including Simone Smith, who was diagnosed with cancer at 9 years old; Hazel Parker, a former Georgia-Pacific employee whose mother, sister and father died from cancer; and Leroy Patton, the only person on his block to survive his health battle. And it brings to light the account on one whistle-blower who puts his life and family on the line to shed light on Georgia-Pacific's egregious pollution, cover up and political influence.

On South Penn Road, a residential area located about ¼ mile from the uncovered and unlined wastewater settling basins – 11 families out of 15 have at least one family member with cancer. No protections are in place to stop 45 million daily gallons of Georgia Pacific wastewater from percolating into Crossett’s ground water.

“Company Town” dives into the egregious business practices of Koch Industries, one of the largest “family-owned” corporations in the world. When the plant was acquired by Koch, residents were offered “health contracts” in exchange for an agreed-upon sum. By signing the contract, residents essentially signed away their rights to sue Georgia-Pacific for bodily or personal injuries, death, or damage to real or personal property caused by the chemical plant, says Cheryl Slavant Ouachita Riverkeeper. Slavant found that in Crossett, black residents were offered an average of $10,000, while some white residents received as much as $210,000. Beyond the disparities in how the company valued the lives of people of color, the biggest injustice lies in why these health contracts were offered in the first place.

Proving their case to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, concerned residents backed efforts to test Crossett’s water and air for pollutants. Tests of the town’s tap water showed that more than 60 chemicals are present in the water, including benzene, a known cancer-causing agent. 74 different chemicals are released into the air from Georgia-Pacific, including formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, and dioxins, according to tests conducted by Wilma Subra, a chemist with the Louisiana Environmental Network. The presence of these pollutants is consistent with health hazards experienced and reported by residents, which include respiratory problems, cardiovascular, and neurological impacts.

When institutions we’ve created to protect us are susceptible to political pressure and influence, we need to rely on the power of organizing to push for accountability. Be prepared for a long and uphill battle. The people in Crossett learned this the hard way. Across America, there are many towns like Crossett that are used as waste dumps by companies that have little to no regard for the health and safety of people who live there. Without accountability to public agencies that are supposed to be policing their actions, bad actors like Georgia-Pacific suffer no consequences when their business practices and operations kill people.


COMPANY TOWN
Directors - Natalie Kottke-Masocco, Erica Sardarian
Run Time - 90 minutes
Language - English
Format - Digital
Year - 2017
Genre - Documentary