EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Health + Wellness

    Studies Find Louisiana Government Helped Create Cancer Alley

    By: Paige Bennett
    Updated: February 10, 2023
    Edited by Irma Omerhodzic
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Louisiana's "Cancer Alley" - Landscapes
    A house sits along the long stretch of River Road by the Mississippi River and the many chemical plants October 12, 2013. Giles Clarke / Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    Two studies by researchers from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic have confirmed that “Cancer Alley,” a 184-mile region in Louisiana along the Mississippi River with a high number of petrochemical plants as well as high cancer rates for residents, is not only real, but that government officials helped create it.

    The studies confirm what many locals and scientists have long suspected, that the industrial pollution rampant in this region is harmful to human health. Yet officials have said that cancer rates in the region along the Mississippi River are not higher than averages across Louisiana. 

    “LDEQ does not use the term cancer alley,” Greg Langley, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), said, as reported by Inside Climate News. “That term implies that there is a large geographic area that has higher cancer incidence than the state average. We have not seen higher cancer incidence over large areas of the industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.”

    But two recent studies, led by Kimberly Terrell, a research scientist and director of community engagement at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, and Gianna St. Julien, law clinic research coordinator, show evidence that “Cancer Alley” exists, as a region where cancer rates are higher. The studies also found that the way state regulators have implemented industrial permitting has led to discrimination and disparities in industrial pollution, with the biggest burden falling on communities of color in the state.

    One of the studies, published in January 2023, found that more than half of industrial facilities in Louisiana were clustered in the area known as “Cancer Alley,” and communities of color faced 7 to 21 times more emissions than predominantly white communities. Chemical manufacturing was the largest contributor of the emissions.

    Another study from Terrell and St. Julien published in 2022 found higher estimated cancer risk from air pollution associated with higher cancer rates related to poverty and race. Terrell also shared in The Advocate that the research found 850 cancer cases for predominantly Black and or low-income communities in Louisiana that were related to toxic air pollution over the past 10 years.

    “Our analysis provides evidence of a statewide link between cancer rates and carcinogenic air pollution in marginalized communities and suggests that toxic air pollution is a contributing factor to Louisiana’s cancer burden,” the authors said in the 2022 study. “These findings are consistent with the firsthand knowledge of Louisiana residents from predominantly Black, impoverished, and industrialized neighborhoods who have long maintained that their communities are overburdened with cancer.”

    Following up on three filed complaints, the EPA shared that actions by LDEQ and the Louisiana Department of Health contributed to “disparate adverse impacts on Black residents of St. John the Baptist Parish, St. James Parish, and the Industrial Corridor.” The EPA also noted that LDEQ’s air permitting program was implemented in a way that continued to expose residents, including children, to “average annual concentrations of chloroprene in ambient air at levels associated with increased lifetime cancer risk.”

    Learn More About Energy Solutions From EcoWatch
    • How to Save Energy
    • How to Lower Your Energy Bill
    • Are Solar Panels Worth It for Your Home?

    While Terrell noted in an interview with Inside Climate News that first-hand accounts from the communities should have been enough for officials to make policy changes, the authors say that the studies will help provide more data as a tool for decision-makers to better protect communities in the “Cancer Alley” area. 

    “We’re already heavily industrialized, but there are more facilities that are trying to make their way into Louisiana,” St. Julien said. “Ultimately, it comes down to protecting the health of people living within the state that are currently being overburdened and don’t exactly have access to resources to protect their health.”

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Paige Bennett

      Based in Los Angeles, Paige is a writer who is passionate about sustainability. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ohio University and holds a certificate in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She also specialized in sustainable agriculture while pursuing her undergraduate degree.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      DDT Pollution Dumped off Los Angeles Coast Has Not Broken Down Decades Later, Scientists Find
      In 2020, University of California (UC), Santa Barbara, scientist David
      By Olivia Rosane
      <strong>Latex Chemical Spill Contaminates Delaware River, Supplier of More Than Half of Philadelphia’s Water</strong>
      On Friday, thousands of gallons of a water-soluble acrylic latex
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      Why Does White East Palestine, Ohio Get Apologies, But None for Black Cancer Alley?
      Black communities smothered 24/7 by toxic industries keep getting strung
      By The Root

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Meatball Made With Wooly Mammoth DNA Created by Food Company
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 28, 2023
        • Rewilding Could Help Limit Warming Beyond 1.5°C, Scientists Say
          by Paige Bennett
          March 28, 2023
        • DDT Pollution Dumped off Los Angeles Coast Has Not Broken Down Decades Later, Scientists Find
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 28, 2023
        • Tornado Outbreak Kills 22 in Mississippi and Alabama
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 27, 2023
        • Latex Chemical Spill Contaminates Delaware River, Supplier of More Than Half of Philadelphia’s Water
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 27, 2023
        • CITES Sanctions Mexico as Protections for Vaquita Fall Short
          by Paige Bennett
          March 27, 2023
        • Oyster Mushrooms Could Consume a Million Cigarette Butts in Australia
          by Paige Bennett
          March 27, 2023
        • UK Think Tank Proposes Visas for Climate Migrants
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 26, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more