‘Everything is worse since Drax came here’: US residents say wood-pellet plant harming their town

Residents of Gloster, Mississippi, are suing plant that exports wood pellets to UK and Europe. Company says it is reducing emissions

When Helen Reed first learned about the bioenergy mill opening in her hometown of Gloster, Mississippi, the word was it would bring jobs and economic opportunities. It was only later that she learned that activity came with a cost: the Amite Bioenergy mill, opened in 2014 by British energy giant Drax, emits large - and sometimes illegal - quantities of air pollutants, including methanol, acrolein and formaldehyde, which are linked to cancers and other serious illnesses.

When I go out, I can't hardly catch my breath," Reed said. Everything is worse since Drax came here."