A January report from the Human Rights Watch organization found that a particular region in Louisiana called “Cancer Alley,” an 85-mile stretch of road between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, harms residents’ health. People are calling for the government and other agencies to intervene.
The report read that Cancer Alley’s fossil fuel and petrochemical industry caused the area’s environment to be fatally polluted, leading many to face severe health problems, particularly its majority of Black and low-income residents.
HRW focused on the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Jefferson, Orleans, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, and West Baton Rouge. That’s over 1.5 million lives at risk.
Upon interviewing residents, HRW uncovered that citizens in the area are at the highest risk of cancer—over seven times the national average—due to industrial air pollution, including breast, prostate and liver cancers.
Many women shared stories with the organization of experiencing maternal and reproductive issues. They reported the health of newborns deteriorating, from low birth weight and preterm birth to stillbirths and miscarriages. Babies have reportedly been born underweight at three times the national average and born prematurely at 2.5 times the national average.
Residents are also at risk for respiratory illnesses like chronic asthma, bronchitis and coughs, childhood asthma and persistent sinus infections.
The impact of poor pollution on their health affects their finances, with some victims, especially those without healthcare, having to be rushed to the hospital.
Sharon Levigne, 71, described the pain of living in the area: “We’re dying from inhaling the industries’ pollution. I feel like it’s a death sentence. Like we are getting cremated, but not getting burnt.”
Angie Roberts, 57, had lived in Cancer Alley for 28 years, only to discover in 2019 that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. Her doctor detected suspicious lumps in her breast, and now she’s required to undergo regular mammography. She also developed multiple sclerosis.
“Who would want to live here now?” Roberts asked, who shared she had severe coughs that forced her awake at night, gasping for air. “I’m dying here.”
Many residents desire to move, but Roberts noted that the price she would receive after selling her home, if someone is interested, would make it impossible.
Kaitlyn Joshua, 31, has had chronic asthma since her childhood and was told by her doctor that her neighborhood affected her respiratory health.
“‘Kaitlyn, it’s where you live. It’s the air quality. You’re going to have to move out of there,’” her doctor said.
Joshua has lost four great aunts to cancer and, recently, both of her grandparents (unrelated to cancer). She believes the fossil fuel and petrochemical plants had a role in their deaths since they lived next to them in Baton Rouge.
Parents are choosing to keep their children home from school to protect them from poor air quality.
Residents continuously speak against toxic air pollution and its fatal causes and demand governmental interference.
Organizations like the United Nations have spoken out against environmental racism in Louisiana, and several studies show how detrimental poor air pollution is to human health, regardless of age and gender.
As more plants are planned, Cancer Alley residents and HRW urged local, state, and federal authorities to enforce laws to oversee fossil fuel or petrochemical plants.
They call for laws limiting where the plant facilities will be built and requiring them to “implement practices and procedures that protect the human rights of frontline communities, including by enacting and effectively enforcing regulations and taking immediate and comprehensive action to deter and remedy violations.”
