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Denka

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For the sky god also known as Denka, see Deng (god).
Denka Company Limited
Company typePublic (K.K)
TYO: 4061
Nikkei 225 Component
ISINJP3549600009
IndustryChemicals
FoundedTomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan (May 1, 1915; 110 years ago (1915-05-01))
FounderTsuneichi Fujiyama
HeadquartersNihonbashi Mitsui Tower, 1-1, Nihonbashi-Muromachi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8338, Japan
Key people
Shinsuke Yoshitaka
(Chairman and CEO)
Manabu Yamamoto
(President)
Products
RevenueIncrease JPY 395.6 billion (FY 2017) (US$ 3.56 billion) (FY 2017)
Increase JPY 23 billion (FY 2017) (US$ 207 million) (FY 2017)
Number of employees
5,944 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2018)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

Denka Company Limited (デンカ株式会社, Denka Kabushiki-gaisha); formerly Denki Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (電気化学工業株式会社) is a Japanese chemical company, established in 1915, and headquartered in Tokyo, manufacturing organic and inorganic chemicals, cement, special cement additives, electronic component transfer materials and food packaging materials.[2] The company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index.[3]

History

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In 1912, Tsuneichi Fujiyama founded a carbide business, Hokkai Carbide, in Tomakomai, a village in Hokkaido. One year later, Fujiyama patented his own process of producing cyanamide, the continuous cyanamide process.[4] In 1913, Fujiyama with the help of 22 venture capitalists incorporated a reorganized Hokkai Carbide as Denki Kagaku Kogyo, the current company. Despite its legal status as an independent corporation, Denka was a Mitsui-related company.[5] The company changed its name from Denki Kagaku Kogyo to Denka Company Limited 2015.[6]

Pontchartrain Works

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DuPont constructed the Pontchartrain Works facility in Reserve, Louisiana as a adiponitrile plant in 1968, then added neoprene, and eventually exclusively produced neoprene. By 2011 DuPont was considering selling the plant as they were aware of chloroprene emissions, which are classified as "likely to be carcinogenic to humans" by the EPA. The company sold the plant to Denka in 2015, but DuPont still owns the land.[7][8][9][10]

Up to 755 times the safe air value of 0.2 μg/m3 of chloroprene has been recorded at the fifth ward elementary school in close proximity to the plant.[9] The cancer risk in Reserve is 1,500 times the national average and is thought to be due to chloroprene levels.[9] Denka voluntarily agreed to reduce its emissions in 2017, though chloroprene emissions remained above the 0.2 μg/m3 level.[11]

In February 2023, the US Justice Department sued Denka for violating the Clean Air Act and endangering public health.[12] The EPA under the Biden administration created a rule to limit pollution of ethylene oxide and chloroprene in 2024. Denka's facility is the only chloroprene emitter in the US.[13]

In March 2025, the Justice Department under the Trump administration dismissed the suit, referencing Executive Order 14151, stating it fell under diversity, equity, and inclusion and was "advancing ideological priorities".[14]

Denka temporarily suspended operations the facility in May 2025 after reporting an "extraordinary loss" in company earnings.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Company Overview". Denka Company Limited. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Company Profile". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Inc. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Components:Nikkei Stock Average". Nikkei Inc. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  4. ^ Travis, Anthony S. (April 24, 2018). Nitrogen Capture: The Growth of an International Industry (1900–1940). Springer Nature. p. 85. ISBN 978-3-319-68963-0.
  5. ^ Molony, Barbara (1990). Technology and Investment: The Prewar Japanese Chemical Industry. Harvard University Asia Center. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-674-87260-8.
  6. ^ "Japanische Denka kauft Hallenser Icon Genetics" [Japanese Denka buys Icon Genetics]. Bioökonomie.de (in German). Federal Ministry of Education and Research. August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  7. ^ Oliver Laughland (17 February 2021). "Revealed: chemicals giant sold Louisiana plant amid fears over cost of offsetting toxic emissions". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  8. ^ Laughland, Oliver; Lartey, Jamiles (May 6, 2019). "First slavery, then a chemical plant and cancer deaths: one town's brutal history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c US EPA, OAR (July 9, 2018). "2014 National Air Toxics Assessment". US EPA. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  10. ^ Russell, Gordon; The Times-Picayune; The Advocate (19 December 2019). "In "Cancer Alley," Toxic Polluters Face Little Oversight From Environmental Regulators". ProPublica. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  11. ^ Lartey, Jamiles; Laughland, Oliver (May 6, 2019). "'Almost every household has someone that has died from cancer'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  12. ^ Oliver Laughland (28 February 2023). "US justice department sues two companies over pollution in Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  13. ^ Aliya Uteuova; Oliver Laughland (9 April 2024). "New rule mandates 200 US plants to reduce toxic emissions linked to cancer". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2025. i
  14. ^ "Justice Department Dismisses Suit Against Denka, Delivering on President Trump's Mandate to End Radical DEI Programs". justice.gov. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025. The dismissal fulfills President Trump's day one executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and PreferencingLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.," signed to eliminate ideological overreach and restore impartial enforcement of federal laws. Concurrently, EPA withdrew its referral of the case to the Justice Department to align with Administrator Lee Zeldin's pledge to end the use of "environmental justice" as a tool for advancing ideological priorities.
  15. ^ Oliver Laughland (13 May 2025). "Louisiana: controversial Denka plant suspends production after dire losses". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
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