Mossville, Louisiana

Mossville is a small, predominantly African American unincorporated community[1] on the outskirts of Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area and is sandwiched between the much larger and predominantly white towns of Sulphur to the west and Westlake to the east.

Sasol owns a large petrochemical plant which directly abuts the town of Westlake to the east. Sasol announced a westward expansion of their facility which entailed buying out and relocating almost all of the residents north of Old Spanish Trail in Mossville.[2]

The community is featured in the 2002 documentary film Blue Vinyl, which focuses on the health effects of nearby polyvinyl chloride factories on community members. The film features footage of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade collecting air samples to determine the toxicity of the community's air. Some of its last residents were documented in the 2019 film Mossville, When Great Trees Fall which played at festivals around the world and broadcast nationally on PBS.

  1. ^ Adrianne Appel: Tiny Town Demands Justice in Dioxin Poisoning. Common Dreams, 2007-7-25
  2. ^ Garland, Terri (March 10, 2015). "Louisiana Purchased". Photo Essay. Retrieved March 5, 2021.