Beaver County residents rally against Shell cracker plant
BEAVER, Pa. (KDKA) - Some residents in Beaver County are fed up with the Shell cracker plant and the multiple pollution violations it has had since it opened last year.
Thursday in Beaver, dozens of people from the Shell Accountability Campaign gathered to make their voices heard.
Since coming online in 2022, the Shell Polymers Monaca plant, better known as the Shell cracker plant, has had several pollution violations and many local residents are saying enough is enough.
Thursday morning in downtown Beaver, some 50 members of the Shell Accountability Campaign rallied to make their voices heard.
"We deserve better. We deserve better than sacrificing our communities' and workers' health for companies' profits," said Dustin White Sr. "If Shell really wants to be a good neighbor, if Shell really wants to curtail climate change, they would stop making single-use plastics."
These protesters were not only aiming to have a public demonstration in order to air grievances against the Shell corporation for putting a plant in their backyard, but they also were taking a list of demands and a petition for a change to the Beaver County commissioners meeting at the courthouse.
The Shell plant recently received three pollution violation notices from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. One of the notices was for visible emissions from the plant's high-pressure flares in February.
Many gathered on Thursday, including Andie Grey, who said this plant is having a negative impact on her life.
"It's been really challenging," she said. "We have had flaring at night, we've had smells, noises. It's been incredibly disruptive and it's not something that residents should have to deal with because we live here, so this isn't something that we want to have happening in our backyard."
Representatives from Shell were not in attendance Thursday, but KDKA-TV reached out for comment and did not hear back by airtime.