Editing Cancer Alley

{{short description|Area in Louisiana with larger than usual clusters of cancer patients}}
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
[[File:A MOUNTAIN OF DAMAGED OIL DRUMS NEAR THE EXXON REFINERY - NARA - 546000 (cropped).jpg|thumb|280px|A mound of [[drum (container)|oil drums]] near the [[Baton Rouge Refinery|Baton Rouge ExxonMobil Refinery]] along the [[Mississippi River]] in December 1972.]]

'''Cancer Alley''' is the regional nickname given to an {{convert|85|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of land<ref name=Blodgett2006>{{cite journal |last1=Blodgett|first1=Abigail D. |title=An Analysis of Pollution and Community Advocacy in 'Cancer Alley': Setting an Example for the Environmental Justice Movement in St James Parish, Louisiana |journal=[[Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability|Local Environment]] |date=December 2006 |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=647–661 |doi=10.1080/13549830600853700 |bibcode=2006LoEnv..11..647B |s2cid=143642013}}</ref> along the [[Mississippi River]] between [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]] and [[New Orleans]], in the [[River Parishes]] of [[Louisiana]], which contains over 200<ref>{{cite web |last1=Younes|first1=Lylla |last2=Shaw|first2=Al |last3=Perlman|first3=Claire |date=2019-10-30 |title=In a Notoriously Polluted Area of the Country, Massive New Chemical Plants Are Still Moving In |url=https://projects.propublica.org/louisiana-toxic-air |access-date=2023-02-15 |publisher=[[ProPublica]] |language=en |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215022902/https://projects.propublica.org/louisiana-toxic-air/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[petrochemical industry|petrochemical plants]] and [[oil refinery|refineries]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Castellón|first=Idna |title=Cancer Alley and the Fight Against Environmental Racism |journal=Villanova Environmental Law Journal |date=February 12, 2021 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=15 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/elj/vol32/iss1/2/ |access-date=2022-12-10 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210163506/https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/elj/vol32/iss1/2/ |url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2012, this area accounted for 25% of the [[petrochemical]] production in the United States.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=James|first=Wesley |date=2012 |title=Uneven magnitude of disparities in cancer risks from air toxins |journal=[[International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health]] |volume=9 |issue=12 |pages=4365–4385 |doi=10.3390/ijerph9124365 |pmid=23208297 |pmc=3546767 |doi-access=free}}</ref> By the 1970s the EPA documented serious water and air pollution. Environmentalists consider the region a [[sacrifice zone]] where rates of cancer caused by air pollution exceed the [[federal government of the United States|federal government]]'s own limits of acceptable risk.<ref>{{cite web |date=2021-11-16 |title=What are 'sacrifice zones' and why do some Americans live in them? |first=Adrienne|last=Matei |url=https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/16/what-are-sacrifice-zones-and-why-do-some-americans-live-in-them |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519233754/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/16/what-are-sacrifice-zones-and-why-do-some-americans-live-in-them |url-status=live}}</ref>

Community leaders such as [[Sharon Lavigne]] have led the charge in protesting the expansion of the petrochemical industry in Cancer Alley, as well as addressing the associated [[racial inequality in the United States|racial]] and [[income inequality in the United States|economic]] disparities.<ref>{{cite web |date=2021 |title=Letter from Sharon Lavigne to Pres. Biden on Cancer Alley & Formosa Plastics |url=https://labucketbrigade.org/letter-from-sharon-lavigne-to-pres-biden-on-cancer-alley-formosa-plastics |url-status=live |publisher=[[Louisiana Bucket Brigade]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720004428/https://labucketbrigade.org/letter-from-sharon-lavigne-to-pres-biden-on-cancer-alley-formosa-plastics/ |archive-date=2021-07-20}}</ref>

Cancer Alley in a larger sense extends further west along the Gulf Coast into Texas to the area of [[Freeport, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 22, 2020 |title=Cancer Alley' Among Worst Areas for Chemical Risks, Groups Say |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/poor-gulf-coast-exposed-to-worst-chemical-risks-groups-say}}</ref>

==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>

==Community organizing==
In 1996, [[Shintech|Shintech Inc.]] announced that they would be creating three new [[polyvinyl chloride]] (PVC) manufacturing plants in [[Convent, Louisiana|Convent]], a small majority Black community ([[Convent, Louisiana#Demographics|2010 population of 711, 65.7% Black]]) that serves as the parish seat of [[St. James Parish, Louisiana|St. James Parish]]. The state of Louisiana issued Shintech permits to proceed with the project in 1997, despite their acknowledgement that these locations would be adding 623,000 pounds of pollutants to the air annually.<ref name=Berry2003/> The residents of Convent formed a coalition called St. James Citizens for the Environment (SJCJE) that drew the attention of outside legal groups including the [[Tulane University]] Environmental Law Clinic and the [[Sierra Club]] Legal Defense Fund.<ref name=Berry2003/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuehn |first=Robert R. |title=Denying Access to Legal Representation: The Attack on the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic |url=https://journals.library.wustl.edu/lawpolicy/article/1685/galley/18519/view/ |access-date=March 12, 2024 |website=journals.library.wustl.edu |page=16}}</ref> In 1998, after considerable pressure and lobbying, Shintech withdrew its project plans.<ref name=Berry2003/>

In 1992, the Taiwanese-owned [[Formosa Plastics Corporation]] proposed to build a $700&nbsp;million [[rayon]] and pulp processing plant in [[Wallace, Louisiana|Wallace]], a small majority Black community ([[Wallace, Louisiana#Demographics|2000 population of 570, 93.7% Black]]) in [[St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana|St. John the Baptist Parish]]. This plant would have been the world's largest of its kind if completed, and was expected to create 5,000 jobs. The 750 residents of the town waged a legal battle and eventually won forcing Formosa to build their plant elsewhere.<ref name=Taylor2014>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Dorceta |title=Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility |date=2014 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-1-4798-6178-1 }}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref>

In 2018, the [[Formosa Plastics Corp]]oration proposed the Sunshine Project, a $9.4&nbsp;billion industrial complex to be located on the west bank of St. James Parish that is estimated to become the petrochemical and plastics project with the single greatest environmental detriment, at an estimated 13,628,086 tons of greenhouse gas emissions yearly.<ref>Bernhardt, C., Shaykevich, A., & The Environmental Integrity Project. (2020). [https://environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Greenhouse-Gases-from-Oil-Gas-and-Petrochemical-Production.pdf Greenhouse Gases from Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Production] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906105418/https://www.environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Greenhouse-Gases-from-Oil-Gas-and-Petrochemical-Production.pdf |date=September 6, 2021 }}.</ref> The proposed complex would span 2,500 acres and will be situated one mile from an elementary school,<ref name="biologicaldiversity.org">Center for Biological Diversity. (November 4, 2020). [https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/army-corps-suspends-permit-for-formosa-plastics-controversial-louisiana-plant-2020-11-04/ Army Corps suspends permit for Formosa Plastics' controversial Louisiana plant] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129001922/https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/army-corps-suspends-permit-for-formosa-plastics-controversial-louisiana-plant-2020-11-04/ |date=November 29, 2021 }}. Center for Biological Diversity.</ref> On January 15, 2020, RISE St. James, a faith-based grassroots organization of St. James Parish community members, in conjunction with the nonprofit conservation organization [[Center for Biological Diversity]], the grassroots organization [[Louisiana Bucket Brigade]], and the nonprofit Healthy Gulf, sued the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] for permitting Formosa Plastics' proposed petrochemical complex. The lawsuit sought to invalidate the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]]' fast-tracked [[Clean Water Act]] permits that the Corps issued the prior year.<ref>{{cite web|date=September 10, 2019|title=Formosa plastics' proposed Louisiana plant gets permit to destroy wetlands|publisher=Center for Biological Diversity|url=https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/formosa-plastics-proposed-louisiana-plant-gets-permit-to-destroy-wetlands-2019-09-10/|access-date=November 1, 2021|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129181649/https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/formosa-plastics-proposed-louisiana-plant-gets-permit-to-destroy-wetlands-2019-09-10/|url-status=live}}</ref> It had come to light that independent archaeologists that Formosa Plastics hired had discovered that enslaved people were buried in unmarked graves beneath the 2,300-acre site that Formosa planned to develop their plastics complex on.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=T. L. |date=December 18, 2019 |title=Activists want the $9.4B Formosa project stopped due to the slave cemetery at the St. James site |work=The Advocate |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_5b6b4acc-20ed-11ea-a1d8-839c5ace48ea.html |access-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101022256/https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_5b6b4acc-20ed-11ea-a1d8-839c5ace48ea.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Citing violation of federal laws in the approval of destroying wetlands, the region's first and quickly dwindling line of defense against progressively-intensifying natural disasters, as well as the failure to protect the water, air, and health of the surrounding communities, and the violation of the [[National Historic Preservation Act]] in failing to protect the burial grounds of enslaved people, the lawsuit demanded the rescinding of the permits issued in September 2019 as well as the conducting of a full [[environmental impact study]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Center for Biological Diversity |date=January 15, 2020 |title=Lawsuit challenges Trump administration's fast-tracking of Louisiana Plastics project |url=https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/lawsuit-challenges-trump-administrations-fast-tracking-of-louisiana-plastics-project-2020-01-15/ |access-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-date=December 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208011300/https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/lawsuit-challenges-trump-administrations-fast-tracking-of-louisiana-plastics-project-2020-01-15/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 4, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced its plans to suspend its permit for the Sunshine Project.<ref name="biologicaldiversity.org"/>

The economic stimulation and job creation that is promised with the proposal of each new plant in the area has never been fulfilled, while a tiny minority of full-time industry jobs are filled by community members who bear the brunt of the pollution burden – for example, in [[St. Gabriel, Louisiana|St. Gabriel]] of [[Iberville Parish, Louisiana|Iberville Parish]] where there are now 30 large petrochemical plants within a 10-mile radius, only 9% of the full-time industry jobs in the city are held by local residents, and at least one in four residents live in poverty.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |last1=Baurick |first1=T. |last2=Younes |first2=L. |last3=Meiners |first3=J. |date=October 30, 2019 |title=Welcome to 'cancer alley,' where toxic air is about to get worse |publisher=Pro Publica |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse |access-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423194222/https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse |url-status=live }}</ref> The promised economic prosperity in these major investments has yet to be delivered, but continues to be a cited reason for the continued approval of petrochemical permits.<ref>{{cite web |author=Office of Governor John Bel Edwards |date=April 23, 2018 |title=Formosa Selects St. James Parish for $9.4 Billion Louisiana Project |publisher=Louisiana.Gov |url=https://gov.louisiana.gov/news/sunshine-project |access-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101022256/https://gov.louisiana.gov/news/sunshine-project |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Criticism ==

The EPA, in both 2016 and 2020, reported that those residing in Cancer Alley are exposed to more than 10 times “the level of health risk from hazardous air pollutants” than other residents in the state. Human Rights Watch reviewed data from 12 fossil fuel and petrochemical plants operating in the Cancer Alley area from October 2020 to November 2023. Out of these 12 facilities, only one of them was “reported in compliance with all three federal laws” in the 3-year observational period. Only 2 of these facilities “were in compliance with the Clean Water Act” as well.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Juhasz |first=Antonia |date=2024-01-25 |title="We're Dying Here" |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/01/25/were-dying-here/fight-life-louisiana-fossil-fuel-sacrifice-zone |journal=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref>

On January 27, 2021, President [[Joe Biden]] signed an executive order regarding environmental justice and specifically cited Cancer Alley as a hard-hit area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baurick |first=Tristan |title=Biden utters the words 'Cancer Alley,' but will he help Louisiana's chemical corridor? |url=https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_0ced9da4-61b1-11eb-af00-fb2987cd8fb2.html |access-date=2021-03-30 |website=NOLA.com |date=January 28, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=March 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327152151/https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_0ced9da4-61b1-11eb-af00-fb2987cd8fb2.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Louisiana Chemical Association President Greg Bowser responded to President Biden's remarks on the region, refuting claims that residents of the industrial corridor have a higher risk of developing cancer in multiple articles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Letter to the Editor: 'Cancer Alley' moniker unwarranted by research|url=https://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letter-to-the-editor-cancer-alley-moniker-unwarranted-by-research/article_94df525c-76b5-11eb-9231-d3b8b37c4518.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=Hanna Newspapers|date=February 24, 2021 |language=en|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413145037/https://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letter-to-the-editor-cancer-alley-moniker-unwarranted-by-research/article_94df525c-76b5-11eb-9231-d3b8b37c4518.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-21|title=Opinion: The Data Doesn't Support "Cancer Alley" Designation in Louisiana|url=https://www.houmatimes.com/opinion/opinion-the-data-doesnt-support-cancer-alley-designation-in-louisiana/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=The Times of Houma/Thibodaux|language=en-US|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413145037/https://www.houmatimes.com/opinion/opinion-the-data-doesnt-support-cancer-alley-designation-in-louisiana/|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, he cited Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) data to support his claims.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bowser |first=Greg |title=Louisiana industry: 'Cancer alley' is false description of health problems |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_94a356c6-6bc0-11eb-8d41-ab20e7dcebae.html |access-date=2021-03-30 |website=The Advocate |date=February 12, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413200716/https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_94a356c6-6bc0-11eb-8d41-ab20e7dcebae.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|title=Cancer Incidence in Louisiana by Census Tract|url=https://sph.lsuhsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/01_Cancer-Incidence-in-LA-by-Census-Tract-2008-2017.pdf|journal=Louisiana Tumor Registry|access-date=April 13, 2021|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413145037/https://sph.lsuhsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/01_Cancer-Incidence-in-LA-by-Census-Tract-2008-2017.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The LTR claims that there has not been an increase in cancer deaths connected to industrial pollution.<ref name=":12" />

On March 2, 2021, the United Nations (UN) [[United Nations Human Rights Committee|Human Rights Committee]] discussed the continued industrial projects along the [[Mississippi River]] in Louisiana. The UN council on contemporary racism strongly condemned what they defined as [[environmental racism]] in their discussion with experts and other UN officials:<blockquote>This form of environmental racism poses serious and disproportionate threats to the enjoyment of several human rights of its largely African American residents, including the right to equality and non-discrimination, the [[right to life]], the [[right to health]], right to an adequate standard of living and cultural rights.</blockquote>The sentiments stated by environmental activists were echoed by the Human Rights Commission.<ref>{{Cite web|title=USA: Environmental racism in "Cancer Alley" must end – experts|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26824&LangID=E|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302134648/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26824&LangID=E |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Committee|archive-date=2021-03-02 }}</ref>

As of 2019 activists and locals have disputed the conclusions of the Louisiana Tumor Registry asserting the tracts used cover large areas and the data does not allow for specific locations adjacent to chemical plants to be analyzed individually.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Gordon|title=Health officials in "Cancer Alley" will study if living near a controversial chemical plant causes cancer|url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/11/health-officials-in-cancer-alley-will-study-if-living-near-a-controversial-chemical-plant-causes-cancer/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=Mother Jones|language=en-US|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413145036/https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/11/health-officials-in-cancer-alley-will-study-if-living-near-a-controversial-chemical-plant-causes-cancer/|url-status=live}}</ref> They also posited that the data may be incomplete as those who died during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] who also had cancer might not be included.<ref name=Dermansky2021>{{Cite web|last=Dermansky|first=Julie|date=2021-02-25|title=From Pollution to the Pandemic, Racial Equity Eludes Louisiana's Cancer Alley Community|url=https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/02/25/pollution-pandemic-racial-equity-eludes-louisiana-cancer-alley-community/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=DeSmog|language=en-US|archive-date=April 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412211055/https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/02/25/pollution-pandemic-racial-equity-eludes-louisiana-cancer-alley-community/|url-status=live}}</ref>  In 2008, Louisiana health officials were unable to release the specific cases and data because of [[medical privacy]] laws.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2008-05-07|title=Your Rights Under HIPAA|url=https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers/index.html|publisher=Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health & Human Services|access-date=2021-04-13|website=HHS.gov|language=en|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413105636/https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Government action, 2011-present==
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Air Toxic Assessment looked at toxic emissions around the nation in 2011 and released the findings in 2015. The study found that the air in [[LaPlace, Louisiana]], which is an area in Cancer Alley, had a higher-than-expected level of [[chloroprene]].<ref name="Sneath">{{cite web |first1=Sara |last1=Sneath |title=State says St. John plant reduced emissions of a likely carcinogen by 85%, residents say it's not enough |url=https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_c98bff0a-b18f-11ea-810b-977dc55a813b.html |website=NOLA.com |date=July 6, 2020 |language=en |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215231930/https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_c98bff0a-b18f-11ea-810b-977dc55a813b.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This subsequently caused the EPA to begin working closely with the owner of the neoprene plant in the area, Denka Performance Elastomer, and the [[Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality]] to lower chloroprene emissions. The overall goal was to lower chloroprene emissions by 85%.<ref name="Sneath"/>

The state of Louisiana says that Denka has reached the goal of lowering emissions by 85%, but some residents remain skeptical. Many residents believe that instead of reducing emissions by a percentage, the emissions should be 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which is what is considered a safe level by the EPA.<ref name="Sneath"/>

In April 2022, the EPA initiated civil rights investigations of Louisiana state agencies. The probe focused on whether the process of granting permits along the industrial corridor violated the civil rights of residents who live nearby.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Schleifstein |first=Mark |date=April 7, 2022 |title=EPA investigates Louisiana environmental, health for racial discrimination in air pollution permits |url=https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_080b2ee6-b6a1-11ec-853a-47ef79c6ad53.html }}</ref> The probe specifically examined the [[Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality]] and the [[Louisiana Department of Health]] regarding the permitting of a Denka Performance Elastomers plant, as well as a proposed [[Formosa Plastics Group| Formosa Plastics Sunshine]] plant and a proposed Greenfield Exports grain terminal.<ref name=":3" />

In February 2023, the EPA and prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Louisiana filed a complaint against Denka Performance Elastomer under Section 303 of the [[Clean Air Act (United States)|Clean Air Act]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=February 28, 2023 |title=EPA and Justice Department File Complaint Alleging Public Health Endangerment Caused by Denka Performance Elastomer's Carcinogenic Air Pollution |url=https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-justice-department-file-complaint-alleging-public-health-endangerment-caused |website=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}}</ref> The complaint asserted that the company's LaPlace, Louisiana, plant posed an imminent danger to public health based on its emissions of cancer-causing chloroprene.<ref name=":4" /> Air monitoring near the Denka plant found chloroprene levels as high as 14 times the recommended level.

According to the EPA, air monitoring near Denka's plant has shown that chloroprene levels are as high as 14 times the recommended level of 0.2 μg/m<sup>3</sup>, which has posed "an imminent and substantial endangerment" to nearby communities.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Krystal Vasquez  |date=February 22, 2024 |title=EPA delays trial against neoprene manufacturer |url=https://cen.acs.org/policy/litigation/EPA-delays-trial-against-neoprene/102/i6 |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=Chemical & Engineering News |language=en}}</ref> Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sued the EPA, challenging the government's use of the disparate impact standard of the [[Civil Rights Act]], which says policies cannot cause disproportionate harm to people of color and continue greenlighting industrial activities in an area already overburdened by pollution. Five weeks later, the EPA dropped its Cancer Alley investigation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nolan |first=Delaney |date=2024-01-20 |title=The EPA Is Backing Down From Environmental Justice Cases Nationwide |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/01/19/epa-environmental-justice-lawsuits/ |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}</ref> In February 2024, the EPA requested a delay in an impending federal trial against Denka until after the agency finalized a rule expected to tighten emission limits for chloroprene.<ref name=":5" />

In April 2024, the EPA announced a new rule targeting more than 200 chemical plants across the U.S., requiring them to cut enough toxic emissions to reduce cancer risks for people living in those areas by 96 percent. It marked the first time the EPA had amended national emissions standards for hazardous organic pollutants in more than 30 years.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=WWNO |first=Halle Parker |date=2024-04-10 |title=For communities near chemical plants, EPA new standards on toxic pollution are a relief • Louisiana Illuminator |url=https://lailluminator.com/2024/04/10/epa-pollution/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Louisiana Illuminator |language=en-US}}</ref> The new rule requires plants to locate the source of toxic contamination and make repairs when emissions exceed standards. The plants are also required to install air monitors at their fence lines.<ref name=":6" />

In February 2025, the Trump administration planned to dismiss the lawsuit against Denka in line with its plan to eliminate DEI programs, including environmental justice,<ref name="nyt">{{Cite news |last=Friedman |first=Lisa |date=2025-03-04 |title=Trump Administration Said to Drop Lawsuit Over Toxic Chemical |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/climate/trump-administration-lawsuit-denka-carcinogen.html |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> as leading positions in the EPA were filled with former representatives or lobbyists of the oil and chemical industry.<ref name="friedman">{{Cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Lisa |last2=Tabuchi |first2=Hiroko |last3=Davenport |first3=Coral |date=2025-01-25 |title=Trump Stocks E.P.A. With Oil, Gas and Chemical Lobbyists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/climate/epa-staff-oil-gas-chemical-industry-lobbyists.html?searchResultPosition=120 |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Environmental racism==
{{main|Environmental racism in the United States}}
Many scholars and residents of Cancer Alley have referred to the area as a "frontline example of environmental racism".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Batiste |first1=Johneisha |title=Being Black Causes Cancer: Cancer Alley and Environmental Racism |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4092077 |publisher=Social Science Research Network |language=en |date=April 24, 2022 |ssrn=4092077 |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215231931/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4092077 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TFuOAwAAQBAJ&pg |first=Dorceta |last=Taylor|authorlink=|title=Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility|pages= |publisher=[[NYU Press]]|date=Jun 20, 2014|ISBN=9781479861781}}</ref> Environmental racism can be defined as the institutional rules, regulations, policies, or government/corporate decisions that deliberately target certain communities for locally undesirable land uses and lax enforcement of zoning and [[environmental law]]s, resulting in communities being disproportionately exposed to toxic and hazardous waste based on race.<ref name="greenaction.org">{{cite web |title=Environmental Justice & Environmental Racism – Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice |url=https://greenaction.org/what-is-environmental-justice/ |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215231932/https://greenaction.org/what-is-environmental-justice/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Environmental racism can also be caused by several factors. These factors include intentional neglect, the alleged need for a receptacle for pollutants in urban areas, and a lack of institutional power and low land values of people of color.<ref name="greenaction.org"/> It is also a well-documented and well-known fact that communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by polluting industries and lax regulation of these industries.<ref name="greenaction.org"/> 75% of Black Americans are reported to more likely live in communities dubbed as "fence-line", communities in close proximity to sites of pollution and industry. Over 1 million of Black Americans are reported to live within a half-mile radius of oil and gas wells.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Critical Infrastructure, Environmental Racism, and Protest: A Case Study in Cancer Alley, Louisiana – Columbia Human Rights Law Review |url=https://hrlr.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/critical-infrastructure-environmental-racism-and-protest-a-case-study-in-cancer-alley-louisiana/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=hrlr.law.columbia.edu}}</ref>

Another reason for the disproportionate siting of industrial facilities in poor and Black communities is the “Not In My Backyard Movement” ([[NIMBY]]). Primarily White neighborhoods rallied together against the petrochemical companies that were being placed in their communities. As a result, these companies shifted their sights and locations towards poor communities of color. NIMBY’s growth occurred in the 1970’s at the same time public awareness about health risks related to pollution from these waste facilities grew. These White communities had social power and “clout” that low-income communities of color did not have.  <ref name="Castellón 15">{{Cite journal |last=Castellón |first=Idna |date=2021-02-12 |title=Cancer Alley and the Fight Against Environmental Racism |url=https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/elj/vol32/iss1/2 |journal=Villanova Environmental Law Journal |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=15 |issn=1049-2631}}</ref>

In 2023, the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] found that found significant evidence that Louisiana regulators’ actions and/or inactions have resulted and continue to result in a range of adverse impacts on African American residents in Cancer Alley.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Madeline |last= Bruning |authorlink=   |title=  EPA Finds Evidence of Racial Discrimination in Cancer Alley |website=[[The Regulatory Review]]|date=March 21, 2023 |url= https://www.theregreview.org/2023/03/21/bruning-epa-finds-evidence-of-racial-discrimination-in-cancer-alley/|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</ref>

==Environmental impacts==
The location of Cancer Alley also poses more environmental impacts other than air pollution. Since Cancer Alley is located closer to the [[Gulf of Mexico]], hurricanes pose a great risk and have caused large amounts of damage in past years. For example, in 2005, [[Hurricane Katrina]] caused almost 11 million gallons of oil to spill into the water near [[New Orleans]].<ref name="lungcancercenter.com">{{cite web |last1=O'Leary |first1=Megan |title=What is Cancer Alley? Louisiana Factories, Chemicals, & Pollutants |url=https://www.lungcancercenter.com/news/cancer-alley-louisiana/#:~:text=Findings%20by%20the%20EPA%20show,lead%20to%20lymphoma%20and%20leukemia. |website=Lung Cancer Center |date=February 10, 2022 |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215224301/https://www.lungcancercenter.com/news/cancer-alley-louisiana/#:~:text=Findings%20by%20the%20EPA%20show,lead%20to%20lymphoma%20and%20leukemia. |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hurricane Harvey]] in 2017 caused power outages that led to unrefrigerated chemicals in a plant in [[Houston]] decomposing and igniting into a large fireball.<ref name="lungcancercenter.com"/> In 2020, [[Hurricane Laura]] caused a fire at a plant that produced pool chemicals, which led to chlorine gas being burned for three days.<ref name="lungcancercenter.com"/>

One of the largest environmental impacts happened when [[Hurricane Ida]] hit in 2021. The storm's projected path was through the industrial region. The threat of the hurricane's destruction caused the industries located in Cancer Alley to release unprocessed chemicals and gases into the air via "[[flaring]]."<ref name="lungcancercenter.com"/> Even though flaring causes chemicals to be released into the air, the process is legal in emergencies and burns the chemicals directly into the air.<ref name="lungcancercenter.com"/> After the hurricane, residents were not only left with damaged homes but also more pollution in the air and water than usual.

==Activism and environmental justice==
In recent years in the United States, the environmental protection and civil rights movements have merged to form an [[environmental justice movement]] in response to minority and low-income communities throughout the country being constantly threatened by pollution.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blodgett |first1=Abigail |year=2006 |title=An Analysis of Pollution & Community Advocacy in 'Cancer Alley':Setting an Example for the Environmental Justice Movement in St James Parish,Louisiana |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549830600853700 |url-status=live |journal=Local Environment |volume= 11|issue=6 |pages=647–661 |bibcode= 2006LoEnv..11..647B|doi=10.1080/13549830600853700 |s2cid=143642013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215231930/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549830600853700 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |access-date=December 15, 2022}}</ref> Many communities that face the largest burdens from pollution tend to be poor and consist mainly of minorities. Due to this, poor and minority communities will resort to grassroots activism to protect themselves. Many have also cited the EPA's failure to be consistent in their enforcement of federal environmental laws.<ref name="Castellón 15"/>

In September 2022, environmental justice advocates in southern Louisiana were able to declare victory after two decisions denied two major petrochemical complexes from moving forward.<ref name="ncronline.org">{{cite web |last1=Roewe |first1=Brian |title=Activists in Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' hail halt to petrochemical complexes |url=https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/justice/activists-louisianas-cancer-alley-hail-halt-petrochemical-complexes |website=www.ncronline.org |language=en |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215231930/https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/justice/activists-louisianas-cancer-alley-hail-halt-petrochemical-complexes |url-status=live }}</ref> State District Court Judge Trudy White released a decision that reversed and vacated 14 air regulations permits that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) had issued for the proposed Formosa Plastics Group complex in the town of [[Welcome, Louisiana|Welcome]].<ref name="ncronline.org"/> The town already has multiple oil refineries and industrial plants and is located in Cancer Alley.

Another group that has been actively fighting against the petrochemical industry in Cancer Alley is Rise St. James. Rise St. James is a faith-based grassroots organization that fights for environmental justice and works to defeat the proliferation of petrochemical industries in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The organization successfully defeated the construction of a $1.25&nbsp;billion plastics manufacturing plant in 2019 and is currently fighting to prevent Formosa Plastics from building a multibillion-dollar plant in the parish.<ref name="Rise St. James">{{cite web |title=Rise St. James |url=https://risestjames.org/ |website=Rise St. James |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215231930/https://risestjames.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Rise St. James is also committed to educating the community and those outside of the community about the chemicals they breathe in every day. The organization's website includes a "Chemical of the Month" page and provides information on a specific chemical and how much it is found in certain areas of Cancer Alley.<ref name="Rise St. James"/>

==In popular culture==
British [[industrial metal]] band [[Godflesh]] used a photograph of a cemetery located in Cancer Alley as the cover art for their 1996 album, ''[[Songs of Love and Hate (Godflesh album)|Songs of Love and Hate]]''.

Sociologist [[Arlie Russell Hochschild]] discusses the environmental and health conditions in Cancer Alley, as well as the socioeconomic and political ramifications, in her 2016 book ''[[Strangers in Their Own Land]].''<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCann|first=Sean|title=What's the Matter with Cancer Alley? Arlie Russell Hochschild's Anatomy of Trumpism|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/whats-the-matter-with-cancer-alley-arlie-russell-hochschilds-anatomy-of-trumpism/|access-date=2020-07-30|website=Los Angeles Review of Books|date=August 22, 2016|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707175053/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/whats-the-matter-with-cancer-alley-arlie-russell-hochschilds-anatomy-of-trumpism/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
'''Comparable examples'''

* [[Love Canal]]
* [[Triangle of death (Italy)]]
* [[Valley of the Drums]]

'''General'''

* [[Cancer cluster]]
* [[Environmental justice]]
* [[Environmental racism]]
* [[Environmental racism in the United States]]

'''Legal'''
* ''[[McCastle v. Rollins Environmental Services]]''

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |author=Nitzkin JL |title=Cancer in Louisiana: a public health perspective |journal=Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society |volume=144 |issue=4 |pages=162 |date=April 1992 |pmid=1613306}}

==External links==
* [https://www.foxnews.com/us/doj-sues-louisiana-chemical-maker-cancer-alley-risk DOJ sues Louisiana chemical maker over 'cancer alley' risk]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171030152755/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2000/05/cancer_alley_myth_or_fact.html Cancer Alley: Myth or Fact?], Unwelcome Neighbors: How the poor bear the burdens of America's pollution. ''[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]''.
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A760420 Cancer Alley]. [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]].

{{coord|30.0|-90.6|display=title}}

[[Category:Environmental issues in the United States]]
[[Category:Environment of Louisiana]]
[[Category:Environment of Mississippi]]
[[Category:Environmental racism in the United States]]