Editing Cancer Alley (section)

==History==
[[File:Cancer Alley Louisiana.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Parishes of Louisiana that comprise "Cancer Alley",<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Peter John |last1=Fos |first2=Peggy Ann |last2= Honore|first3=Russel L |last3=Honore |title=Air Pollution and COVID-19: A Comparison of Europe and the United States|url=https://sph.lsuhsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fos-Honore-Honore-air-pollution-and-covid-19-a-comparison-of-europe-and-the-united-states-9706.pdf |journal=European Journal of Environment and Public Health |date=2021| volume= 5(2), em0074|issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=|ISSN=2542-4904 }}</ref><ref name=Chunrong/><ref name=Terrell/> marked in pink|500px]]

Following an oil and gas boom around the time of [[World War II]], a number of [[Oil refinery|refineries]] spawned along the [[Mississippi River]] near the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Maraniss |first1=David |last2=Weisskopf |first2=Michael |date=1988-01-24 |title=The Faces of Pollution : As Cancer, Miscarriages Mount, Louisiana Wonders If It Is a 'National Sacrifice Zone' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-24-mn-37913-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909211401/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-24-mn-37913-story.html |archive-date=2022-09-09 |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Many of these facilities were previously located in major population centers, such as [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]] and [[New Orleans]], but during the 1950s, many sought to migrate to less densely populated places.<ref name=":2" /> Many relocated to the small communities along the river between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, often located on former plantation sites adjacent to communities with significant or majority [[African American]] populations.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Terrell|first1=Kimberly A.|
last2=St. Julien |first2=Gianna |date= January 13, 2022|title= Air pollution is linked to higher cancer rates among black or impoverished communities in Louisiana|url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4360#erlac4360bib1 |journal= [[Environmental Research Letters]]|volume= 17|issue=1 |page=014033 |doi= 10.1088/1748-9326/ac4360|bibcode=2022ERL....17a4033T |access-date= |doi-access=free}}</ref>

By the 1970s, the area had a proliferation of plants producing [[vinyl chloride]], [[nitrogen]] [[fertilizer]]s, and [[chlorine]].<ref name=":1" /> By the 1970s, serious air pollution and [[water pollution]] was noted by federal agencies. An EPA report found 66 pollutants in [[New Orleans]] [[drinking water]], and 31 lethal chemicals in the air of [[Plaquemine, Louisiana|Plaquemine]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chemical Plant Accidents and Injuries |url=https://onmyside.com/faqs/chemical-plant-accidents-and-injuries/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=onmyside.com |language=en}}</ref> In 1976, [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] divers retrieving [[sediment]] samples from a [[bayou]] suffered second-degree [[burn]]s on their hands.<ref name=":1" /> By the early 1980s, residents in the neighborhood of [[Good Hope, Louisiana|Good Hope]] had grown accustomed to regular fires at a local oil refinery, and developed their own informal evacuation plans for their occurrences.<ref name=":1" /> Despite the known problems with pollution, the [[petrochemical industry]] in the area continued unabated, and even continued expanding. In the early 1980s, an oil refinery purchased the land of Good Hope for expansion.<ref name=":1" />

Beginning in the 1980s, locals also perceived certain species of plants and animals becoming less common.<ref name=":1" /> By 1988, locals began referring to an area in [[Chalmette, Louisiana|Chalmette]] in [[St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana|St. Bernard Parish]] as "Cancer Alley".<ref name=":1" /> The "alley" later grew to encompass an eighty-five-mile stretch along the [[Mississippi River]] stretching from [[New Orleans]] to [[Baton Rouge]] and includes the parishes of [[East Baton Rouge]], [[West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana|West Baton Rouge]], [[Iberville Parish|Iberville]], [[Ascension Parish, Louisiana|Ascension]], [[St. James Parish, Louisiana|St. James]], [[St. John the Baptist Parish|St. John the Baptist]], [[St. Charles Parish, Louisiana|St. Charles]], [[Jefferson Parish, Louisiana|Jefferson]], [[New Orleans|Orleans]], [[St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana|St. Bernard]], and [[Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana|Plaquemines]].<ref name=Chunrong>{{cite journal |first1=Wesley |last1=James |first2 =Chunrong|last2=Jia |first3=  Satish |last3=Kadia|date= December 2012|title= Uneven Magnitude of Disparities in Cancer Risks from Air Toxics|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233839463 |journal= International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH)|volume=9(12):4365-85 |issue= 12|pages= 4365–4385|doi= 10.3390/ijerph9124365|doi-access=free |pmid=23208297 |pmc=3546767 |access-date=|via=[[PubMed]] |quote=Notes: The Cancer Alley consists of 11 parishes: East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines.}}</ref><ref name=Terrell>{{cite thesis|last1=Terrell|first1=Kimberly A.|
last2=St. Julien |first2=Gianna |date= |title=Toxic Air Pollution is Linked to Higher Cancer Rates among Impoverished Communities in Louisiana |type= |chapter= |publisher=[[Tulane University]] |docket= |oclc=|url=https://law.tulane.edu/sites/law.tulane.edu/files/u1625/LTR%20Cancer%20Rates%20v%20Pollution-Related%20Risk%202021-6-21%20FINAL_0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208113942/https://law.tulane.edu/sites/law.tulane.edu/files/u1625/LTR%20Cancer%20Rates%20v%20Pollution-Related%20Risk%202021-6-21%20FINAL_0.pdf| archive-date=February 8, 2022|quote=Registry's annual reports provide cancer rates for the 'Industrial Corridor', a subjectively defined area in southeast Louisiana that corresponds to West Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension, St. James, St. John, and St. Charles parishes. (Louisiana parishes are equivalent to counties). This definition omits the neighboring parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines, which are similarly impacted by industrial pollution and are typically considered to be part of 'Cancer Alley'.}}</ref><ref name="Mulvaney">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uepIDwAAQBAJ&dq=cancer+alley+parishes&pg=PA90|first=Dustin |last=Mulvaney |authorlink=|title=Green Atlas: A Multimedia Reference|pages= |publisher=[[Sage Publications]]|date=July 3, 2013|isbn=9781483318042}}</ref><ref name=HRW>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= "We're Dying Here" The Fight for Life in a Louisiana Fossil Fuel Sacrifice Zone  |website=[[Human Rights Watch]]|date= January 25, 2024|url= https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/01/25/were-dying-here/fight-life-louisiana-fossil-fuel-sacrifice-zone|via=|archive-url=| archive-date=|quote=Welcome sits in St. James Parish in the heart of Cancer Alley, an approximately 85-mile stretch of communities along the banks of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge where people live on the frontlines of some 200 fossil fuel and petrochemical operations — reportedly the largest concentration of such plants in the Western Hemisphere.}}</ref>

Industrial plants emitting [[toxic waste]] in Louisiana continued to proliferate in the 21st century.<ref name=":2" /> According to [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] data, the number of industrial plants in Louisiana that reported their toxic releases grew from 255 to 320 from 1988 to 2017, an increase of 25%, even as the number of such plants nationwide dropped by 16% over that period.<ref name=":2" />

Per a 2003 study that surveyed 11 plants in [[St. James Parish, Louisiana|St. James Parish]], researchers found that the plants employed between 4.9% and 19.4% African Americans, which is low in comparison to the overall population of the county ([[St. James Parish, Louisiana#Demographics|49.2% in 2000]]).<ref name=Berry2003>{{cite journal |last1=Berry |first1=Gregory R. |title=Organizing Against Multinational Corporate Power In Cancer Alley: The Activist Community as Primary Stakeholder |journal=Organization & Environment |date=March 2003 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=3–33 |doi=10.1177/1086026602250213 |s2cid=154520963 }}</ref>
[[File:EPA Air Toxics Screening Assessment 2019ː Estimated Cancer Risk, Baton Rouge–New Orleans Region.png|thumb|330x330px|EPA-estimated cancer risk in the region<ref>{{Cite web|last=US EPA|first=OAR|date=2022-02-02|title=Air Toxics Screening Assessment|url=https://www.epa.gov/AirToxScreen|access-date=2024-04-07|website=www.epa.gov|language=en}}</ref>]]
In 1969, [[DuPont]] opened a plant to manufacture the chemical [[chloroprene]], the main ingredient in [[neoprene]], in [[Reserve, Louisiana]] on the border with [[LaPlace, Louisiana]]. The plant was sold in 2015<ref>{{cite web|title=Louisiana's Cancer Alley Residents Sue Chemical Plant for Nearly 50 Years of Air Pollution|date=July 27, 2017|url=https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/07/27/louisiana-cancer-alley-sue-denka-dupont-chemical-plant-50-years-air-pollution|access-date=July 24, 2019|archive-date=July 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724235148/https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/07/27/louisiana-cancer-alley-sue-denka-dupont-chemical-plant-50-years-air-pollution|url-status=live}}</ref> to Japanese chemical company [[Denka (company)|Denka]]. The area immediately adjacent to the Denka/[[DuPont]] neoprene plant in [[St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana|St. John the Baptist Parish]] has been recognized by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] as having a likelihood of its residents getting cancer from air pollution over 700 times the national average. According to EPA, it emits 99% of the nation's [[chloroprene]] pollution.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hersher |first1=Rebecca |title=After Decades Of Air Pollution, A Louisiana Town Rebels Against A Chemical Giant |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/03/06/583973428/after-decades-of-air-pollution-a-louisiana-town-rebels-against-a-chemical-giant |newspaper=NPR.org |publisher=NPR |accessdate=September 21, 2018 |archive-date=September 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919194357/https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/03/06/583973428/after-decades-of-air-pollution-a-louisiana-town-rebels-against-a-chemical-giant |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Victor Blackwell |author2=Wayne Drash |author3=Christopher Lett |date=2017-10-20 |title=Toxic tensions in the heart of 'Cancer Alley' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/20/health/louisiana-toxic-town/index.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=EPA: Plant emits 99% of US chloroprene pollution {{!}} CNN |date=2017-10-20 |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2017/10/20/louisiana-air-pollution-blackwell-pkg.cnn |access-date=2024-03-12 |language=en}}</ref> EPA opened civil rights investigations over this pollution from Cancer Alley.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laughland |first=Oliver |date=2022-04-14 |title=EPA opens civil rights investigations over pollution in Cancer Alley |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/14/cancer-alley-louisiana-civil-rights-investigations-epa-pollution |access-date=2024-03-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On March 7, 2025, the Justice Department announced it was dropping the federal case against Denka's Louisiana elastomer plant, which the Biden administration had sued over alleged increased cancer risks in the local, mostly Black community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Floodlight |first=Terry L. Jones |date=2025-04-01 |title=As EPA pulls back, Louisiana schoolchildren could face the steepest risks • Louisiana Illuminator |url=https://lailluminator.com/2025/04/01/epa-children/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Louisiana Illuminator |language=en-US}}</ref> The DOJ linked the withdrawal to Trump's policy of ending federal DEI initiatives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Michael |title=U.S. Justice Department dismisses 'Cancer Alley' lawsuit against Louisiana chemical plant |url=https://louisianarecord.com/stories/670380811-u-s-justice-department-dismisses-cancer-alley-lawsuit-against-louisiana-chemical-plant |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Louisiana Record |language=en}}</ref>