In 1996, Shintech Inc. announced that they would be creating three new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing plants in Convent, Louisiana. The state of Louisiana issued Shintech permits to proceed with the project in 1997, despite their acknowledgement that these locations would be adding 623,000 pounds of pollutants to the air annually.The population within a five mile radius of the site of the plants is 81% African American, compared to the overall parish population which is 49% African American. The choice of location is a clear example of environmental racism.