America’s last alumina refinery yet again riddled with unlawful waste disposal allegation

Updated on 18/07/2025: 

State environmental regulators have recorded fresh violations at Atlantic Alumina’s Gramercy refinery in Louisiana, the only operational alumina refinery in the United States. A compliance inspection by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on May 29 documented nine violations, including discharges from red mud waste lakes, unmaintained levees, and chemical overflows into public drainage systems.

This follows an earlier LDEQ report from March, which found that toxic waste from the site had entered a drainage ditch leading to the Blind River Swamp. Water samples from that ditch contained arsenic levels nearly 1,400% above the EPA’s safety threshold. Inspectors noted that “multiple discharges from Red Mud Lake 3 into Outfall 003” had occurred, while high grass and poor maintenance had compromised the integrity of the levees.

Additionally, inspectors found diesel leaking into outfalls that drain into the Mississippi River, with signs of petrochemical contamination. Despite the violations, no penalties have been issued so far. LDEQ said the company “has been cooperating with our staff through the investigation and is actively working toward compliance.”

Originally published on 04/06/2025: America’s last alumina refinery is riddled with unlawful waste disposal allegation. A wake-up call for the supply chain?

The United States has just received a seismic jolt to its aluminium backbone. A toxic disaster has been quietly brewing in Gramercy, Louisiana — home to Atalco, the country’s last operating alumina refinery — and has now erupted into a full-blown environmental and regulatory crisis. It’s a case of corporate concealment, environmental injustice, and glaring regulatory inertia. But more importantly, it’s a flashing red warning for America’s aluminium security.