Louisiana Cancer Alley

Lucia Zhang ’25

Located along the Mississippi River, Cancer Alley is an 85-mile stretch of land in Louisiana near hundreds of industrial plants that house predominantly Black and poor communities. Unmistakable in its name, the residents of Cancer Alley are known to experience a higher risk for cancer due to the air pollution from the plants.

Before it was known as the Cancer Alley, this stretch of land was called the Chemical Corridor, where approximately 50 toxic chemicals circulate in its air. While overexposure to chemicals such as formaldehyde and ethylene oxide is known to cause health issues, one of the most concerning chemicals is chloroprene, which may increase an individual’s risk of cancer (Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). When residents on Jacobs Drive in the city of St. Gabriel noticed many cancer cases on the street, it was called Cancer Alley. Soon, this name was extended to reference the 85 miles between Baton Rouge and New Orleans because of the steady increase of cancer cases across the entire state. In 2002, the parish of St. Gabriel was found to have the same carbon dioxide emission rate as that produced by around 113 countries (EPA, 2021). Even as a state, Louisiana currently has the third-highest rate of new cases (World Population Review, 2021).

These staggering statistics confirmed the worries of the residents of Cancer Alley. As a result, countless African American organizations protested against Louisiana state agencies for discriminating against them by ignoring air pollution problems in predominantly Black communities. While the EPA did work with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to lower the dangerous emission levels of a particular plant by 85% in 2015, the residents were not satisfied. Instead, they wanted the emissions to be lowered within the safe range determined by the EPA rather than meeting a specific percentage drop (Sneath, 2020). After continuously bringing the toxic pollution levels to the attention of the EPA, the agency began an investigation in April 2022. Despite this, after a year of investigation, the EPA closed the case without coming to conclusions. Even after “actively engag[ing] in regular informal negotiations [with the state agencies] for several months,” they did not come up with an agreement to address the pollution (EPA, 2020).

Unfortunately, this is only one of many cases of environmental racism. Minority and low-income groups often reside near environmentally hazardous areas because the government lacks action. The government places industrial zones and waste disposal sites in these communities due to their lack of political and economic influence. Hopefully, as communities like the ones in Cancer Alley advocate for themselves and more people join their cause, their conditions will slowly improve.

References

Addish, S. (2021, July 2). 1) Cancer Alley, Louisiana (1987- ) •. Black Past.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/cancer-alley-louisiana-1987/

Campisano, D. (2023, August 20). What is Cancer Alley? Verywell Health.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/cancer-alley-5097197

Cancer Rates By State 2021. (n.d.). Worldpopulationreview.com.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/cancer-rates-by-state

Juhasz, A. (2023, June 29). US Ends Critical Investigation in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. Human Rights

Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/06/29/us-ends-critical-investigation-louisianas-cancer-alley

Sneath, Sara. (2020, July 6). State says St. John plant reduced emissions of a likely carcinogen by 85%,

residents say it’s not enough. NOLA.com. https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_c98bff0a-b18f-11ea-810b-977dc55a813b.html

US EPA. (2016, June 20). LaPlace, Louisiana - Frequent Questions. Www.epa.gov.