Cancer Alley Research Articles

Toxic Ethylene Oxide May Exceed Safe Levels In Cancer Alley

Concentrations of the cancer-causing chemical far surpass EPA threshold levels for safety in southeastern Louisiana.

OptimalNN: A Neural Network Architecture to Monitor Chemical Contamination in Cancer Alley

The detrimental impact of toxic chemicals, gas, and oil spills in aquatic environments poses a severe threat to plants, animals, and human life. Regions such as Cancer Alley exemplify the profound consequences of inadequately controlled chemical spills, significantly affecting the local community. Given the far-reaching effects of these spills, it has become imperative to devise an efficient method for early monitoring, estimation, and cleanup, utilizing affordable and effective techniques. In this research, we explore the application of U-shaped neural Network (UNET) and U-shaped neural network transformer (UNETR) neural network models designed for the image segmentation of chemical and oil spills. Our models undergo training using the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) dataset and the Oil Spill Detection dataset, employing a specialized filtering technique to enhance detection accuracy. We achieved training accuracies of 95.35% and 91% by applying UNET on the Oil Spill and the CSIRO datasets after 50 epochs of training, respectively. We also achieved a training accuracy of 75% by applying UNETR to the Oil Spill dataset. Additionally, we integrated mixed precision to expedite the model training process, thus maximizing data throughput. To further accelerate our implementation, we propose the utilization of the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) architecture. The results obtained from our study demonstrate improvements in inference latency on FPGA.

A Forensic Approach to Seeing Slow Violence in Death Alley

This paper takes, as provocation, Robert Nixon’s proposition that the effects of ecological instances of “slow violence”—that is, brutalities that manifest incrementally across time and space—elude visible registers, and, as a corollary, are rendered image-weak in the context of today’s saturated mediascape. Specifically, through drawing on burgeoning scholarship focusing on the representation of slow violence and its resistance, in conjunction with nascent theory on “mediated forensics” and “militant evidence,” this article positions the devastating manifestations of slow violence in relation to other forms of neocolonial brutality which, it is argued, are likewise systematically structured to impact marginalized communities whose perspectives are persistently underrepresented in the mainstream. Proceeding from this conviction, the representational challenges issued by Nixon over a decade ago are taken up afresh: Eyal Weizman’s calls to explore the rhetorical potentials of the forensic are addressed through an examination of how the emergence of new digital technologies of image production and distribution are reshaping the ways in which ecological activism is practiced in contexts of crises that adhere, at least on first sight, to Nixon’s definition of slow violence. Analysis is foregrounded in the case study of “Death Alley” (once known as “Cancer Alley”), an eighty-five-mile stretch of land which, snaking alongside the Mississippi River in Louisiana, is currently populated by the densest constellation of chemical facilities in the Western Hemisphere, leading it to become the subject of Forensic Architecture’s 2021 investigation Environmental Racism in Death Alley, Louisiana.

Palliative Care in Cancer Alley: A Discussion on Environmental Racism

Palliative Care in Cancer Alley: A Discussion on Environmental Racism

Battling Environmental Racism in Cancer Alley: A Legislative Approach.

This Paper argues that to protect at-risk communities - and all Americans - from the deadly effects of environmental racism, Congress must pass the Environmental Justice for All Act. The Act is intended to "restore, reaffirm, and reconcile environmental justice and civil rights." It does so by restoring an individual's right to sue in federal court for discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin regardless of intent under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, strengthening the National Environmental Policy Act, and providing economic incentives focused on environmental justice.

From Starved Rock to Cancer Alley: Simulated Violence and Representational Collapse in the American West

The Louisiana Purchase created a complex landscape of cultures and ethnicities located at the peripheries of the Early Republic. Some feared that it would threaten (White) American identity while others imagined the frontier as a clean slate on which the nation could reform its core values. Throughout the nineteenth century, axiomatic regeneration through (violent) experiences dominated peripheral-yet-central discourses of the American space. Shedding new light on the role of representation in the placemaking of the West, this article interweaves a reading of James Hall’s “The Pioneer” with experiences recovered from travelogues and diaries, as well as their embodiments in material culture. I argue that violence was not only a hallmark of settler colonialism but also a crucial narrative device that bridged the gaps between reality and fiction as well as center and margin. These dynamics, the article suggests, regularly culminated in representational excesses of conspicuous and consumable spectacles of violence.

Discriminatory outcomes of industrial air permitting in Louisiana, United States

Overwhelming evidence indicates that communities of Color in the United States are disproportionately harmed by pollution. Yet, state environmental regulators, who permit industrial polluters under the U.S. Clean Air Act, do not universally recognize these disparities. In Louisiana, regulators have denied the existence of pollution disparities and have suggested that infrastructure explains why heavy industry is concentrated in certain neighborhoods. We used a multi-part approach to determine if there is a racial disparity in Louisiana's industrial emissions and, if so, whether infrastructure or state permitting drives this disparity. First, we evaluated race (% people of Color) among census tracts with industrial facilities relative to reported emissions of criteria pollutants from 2019-2021 using a quartile analysis and a linear model that accounted for spatial clustering of facilities. Second, we tested whether census tracts with infrastructure variables have higher-than-average populations of Color using one sample T-tests. Infrastructure variables included petrochemical pipelines, railways, ports, lower Mississippi River access, and a high proportion of the workforce in manufacturing. We found that over half (378 of 671) of Louisiana's industrial facilities were spatially clustered along a 184-mile, winding stretch of the lower Mississippi River known as “Cancer Alley.” Overall, communities of Color had 7-fold to 21-fold higher emissions, depending on the pollutant, than predominantly White communities. Among industry subsectors, Chemical Manufacturing was the largest single contributor to emissions in communities of Color. Census tracts with industrial infrastructure were, on average, racially similar to Louisiana overall (absolute difference, <7% people of Color). Collectively, our findings reveal a stark racial disparity in industrial emissions that is driven by state permitting, particularly of chemical manufacturers, rather than by infrastructure or labor supply. Immediate action is needed to address the discriminatory outcomes of industrial permitting in Louisiana, and future research should focus on the role of state permitting in environmental injustice more broadly.

Impact of environmental and socio‐economic stressors leading to unequal distribution of COVID‐19 incidences in the state of Louisiana

Louisiana (LA) ranks fifth in the United States in cancer mortality rate. LA's infamous “cancer alley” is a well evidenced region near the southeast part of the Mississippi river surrounding the petrochemical hub of the state. LA has also experienced a high COVID‐19 death rate and incidences compared to other states during the recent pandemic. In this study we analyzed publicly available datasets related to health and socio‐economic parameters in LA to determine the factors triggering high incidences and deaths caused by COVID‐19. Correlation analysis was performed to find the impact of different parameters on the outcome of COVID‐19. Our analysis showed higher COVID‐19 incidences in the parishes which are in and around the “cancer alley” with a correlation of r = 0.9. Interestingly, results also indicated a strong correlation (r = 0.9) between the death rates caused by asbestos toxicity to COVID‐19 caused death rate. Furthermore, we found that office‐administration related employment has a positive correlation to COVID‐19 incidences in the “cancer alley.” However, we also found both white and black races are equally affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic in the “cancer alley” region. In conclusion, our analysis strongly suggests that inhabiting “cancer alley” could significantly enhance the chances of getting affected by SARS‐CoV‐2 virus compared to other regions in LA.

Katrina: A History, 1915–2015

Katrina: A History, 1915–2015

Air pollution is linked to higher cancer rates among black or impoverished communities in Louisiana

Despite longstanding concerns about environmental injustice in Louisiana’s industrialized communities, including the area known as Cancer Alley, there is a lack of environmental health research in this state. This research gap has direct consequences for residents of industrialized neighborhoods because state regulators have cited a lack of evidence for adverse health outcomes when making industrial permitting decisions. We investigated how cancer incidence relates to cancer risk from toxic air pollution, race, poverty, and occupation across Louisiana census tracts, while controlling for parish-level smoking and obesity rates, using linear regression and Akaike information criterion model selection. We used the most recent cancer data from the Louisiana Tumor Registry (2008–2017), estimates of race, poverty, and occupation from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2011–2015), and estimated cancer risk due to point sources from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s 2005 National Air Toxics Assessment (accounting for cancer latency). Because race and poverty were strongly correlated (r = 0.69, P < 0.0001), we included them in separate, analogous models. Results indicated that higher estimated cancer risk from air toxics was associated with higher cancer incidence through an interaction with poverty or race. Further analysis revealed that the tracts with the highest (i.e. top quartile) proportions of impoverished residents (or Black residents) were driving the association between toxic air pollution and cancer incidence. These findings may be explained by well-established disparities that result in greater exposure/susceptibility to air toxics in Black or impoverished neighborhoods. Regardless, 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. 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.

Being Black Causes Cancer: Cancer Alley and Environmental Racism

Being Black Causes Cancer: Cancer Alley and Environmental Racism

Air Pollution and COVID-19: A Comparison of Europe and the United States

The objective of this study was to compare the cases of COVID-19 deaths and cases in the United States and Europe. The area selected in the United States was parishes (counties) in Louisiana along the Mississippi River which is globally known as “Cancer Alley.” These parishes have been investigated in the past due to high levels of air pollution. The relationship of air pollution and COVID-19 was evaluated. Data from the Louisiana Department of Health was abstracted for the 11 parishes and infection, mortality, and case-fatality rates were calculated and compared to the remainder of the state. The racial distribution of deaths, and mortality and case-fatality rates were determined in the 11 Cancer Alley parishes. Additionally, risk ratios of infection and mortality were determined. Results indicated that infection, mortality, and case-fatality rates were higher in the 11 Cancer Alley parishes where chronic exposure to air pollution has occurred. The COVID-19 cases and deaths were higher in the 11 Cancer Alley parishes when compared to the remainder of the state. When stratified by race, infection, mortality, and case-fatality rates were higher among Blacks in the 11 Cancer Alley parishes. The risk of infection and mortality was higher in the 11 Cancer Alley parishes, as well as among Blacks in these parishes. Our research adds to others that document the effects of air pollution on COVID-19, as well as the historical patterns of health disparities and environmental injustices in Cancer Alley. We offer a set of progressive policy recommendations as a pathway to actions for sustainable change, which can inform risk mitigating strategies worldwide.

“Waiting to Die”: Toxic Emissions and Disease Near the Denka Performance Elastomer Neoprene Facility in Louisiana's Cancer Alley

Background: Residents of census tract 708 in St. John Parish, Louisiana, face the highest nationwide cancer risk from air pollution due to chloroprene emissions from the Denka Performance Elastomer facility. The University Network for Human Rights worked with residents of this predominantly Black community in Cancer Alley to design and implement a survey-based health study of the area. The study aimed to (1) assess the relationship between household proximity to the facility and reported illness, and (2) advance the advocacy objectives of the community. Methods: The survey area consisted of households within a 2.5-km radius of the Denka facility. Sixty percent of the households within 1.5 km of the facility (“Zone 1”) and 20% of the households between 1.5 and 2.5 km from the facility (“Zone 2”) were randomly sampled. Survey implementers collected information on cancer diagnoses about all residents of each surveyed household. Information on chloroprene-linked medical symptoms was collected about respondents (those who took the survey) only. Results: Cancer prevalence among the survey sample is (1) significantly higher than what is considered likely using Monte Carlo simulations based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results prevalence data (p = 0.0306); and (2) associated with proximity to the facility, with significantly higher-than-likely prevalence in Zone 1 (p = 0.0032) and lower prevalence in Zone 2. Levels of medical symptoms among respondents are high and also associated with proximity to the facility. Discussion: Our findings highlight the need for action to compel Denka to reduce chloroprene emissions to Environmental Protection Agency-recommended limits. Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with Cancer Alley communities' lived experiences of the debilitating health consequences of the area's industrial emissions. The burden of proof must shift to polluting industries.

Preservation at the Intersections: Patterns of Disproportionate Multihazard Risk and Vulnerability in Louisiana's Historic African American Cemeteries

Cancer Alley is an 136,794 meters stretch of chemical and industrial plants along the Mississippi River between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since 2005, the area has experien...

“They’re Killing Us, and They Don’t Care”: Environmental Sacrifice and Resilience in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley

“They’re Killing Us, and They Don’t Care”: Environmental Sacrifice and Resilience in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley

Racial Disparities in Air Pollution Burden and COVID-19 Deaths in Louisiana, USA, in the Context of Long-Term Changes in Fine Particulate Pollution

Black Americans in Louisiana are disproportionately dying from COVID-19, and environmental disparities may be contributing to this injustice. While Black communities in Louisiana's industrialized regions (e.g., Cancer Alley, Calcasieu Parish) have been overburdened with pollution for decades, this disparity has not been evaluated by using recent data. Here, we explore statewide relationships among air pollution burden, race, COVID-19 death rates, and other health/socioeconomic factors. Measures of pollution burden included satellite-derived particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and health risks from toxic air pollution (i.e., respiratory hazard [RH] and immunological hazard [IH], estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency). In addition, we evaluate changes in emissions and ambient concentrations of fine PM2.5 in Louisiana over the past few decades. Our overall goal was to better understand Louisiana's burden of air pollution in the context of COVID-19. By all measures, a higher burden of air pollution was associated with larger percentages of Black residents and increased unemployment across Louisiana census tracts. Across parishes, higher COVID-19 death rates were associated with increased RH and IH and larger percentages of Black residents. These associations were not driven by diabetes, obesity, smoking, age, or poverty. Industrial sources comprised more of Louisiana's PM2.5 in 2017 versus 1990, as vehicle contributions declined 75% whereas industrial emissions remained about the same overall (despite variation in the interim). Ambient concentrations of PM2.5 decreased statewide from 2000 to 2015, but subsequently increased in south Louisiana, concurrent with an upward trend in industrial emissions. Our findings highlight the critical need to address Louisiana's pollution disparities and to recognize air pollution exposure as a risk factor for COVID-19.

Petrochemical buildup will face increased opposition

Public pushback against US chemical industry development is expected to ramp up in 2020 as community activists organize to oppose a wave of petrochemical projects moving forward from Texas to Pennsylvania. “The two hot issues are Cancer Alley and Pennsylvania,” says Wilma Subra, a Louisiana-based environmental scientist and community advocate. She notes that the stretch of her home state between New Orleans and Baton Rouge—the refining and petrochemical region known as Cancer Alley—will see several projects, including a Formosa Petrochemical ethylene cracker and two methanol plants, advance this year. Meanwhile, Shell Chemical is building western Pennsylvania’s first modern ethylene cracker. Subra, who is involved with communities in both regions, says she has seen an increase in organized opposition to industry development, driven by greater community awareness, increased access to data on the health effects of chemical industry activity, and a new generation of environmental activists. “I call them the hell-raisers,”

Cancer Alley: Istrouma to the Gulf of Mexico

This photo-collage essay travels from Istrouma (Baton Rouge) to the Gulf of Mexico, illuminating seen and unseen realities along the banks of the Mississippi River, in a territory of south Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley.” Layers of evidence found in the public record, ranging from colonial renderings to US Geological Survey maps, in addition to photographic documentation, genealogical ties, and historical facts, are used to illustrate how colonial foundations have set a precedence for multinational corporations to perpetuate a legacy of extractive and shortsighted land and water use practices. Indigenous names and histories of a time prior to colonization help to redefine the remembrance of sites and strategic locations, contrasting past and present with the natural and industrial manmade manipulations that have complicated the Mississippi River Delta’s landscape and legacy.

Slow violence and toxic geographies: ‘Out of sight’ to whom?

Toxic pollution is a form of violence. This article explores the gradual brutalities that communities surrounded by petrochemical infrastructure endure over time. Contributing to political geographies of violence and environmental justice, this paper puts the concept of ‘slow violence’ into critical comparison with work on ‘structural violence’. In doing so, the paper makes two key contributions: First, it emphasizes the intimate connections between structural and slow forms of harm, arguing that structural inequality can mutate into noxious instances of slow violence. Second, the paper pushes back against framings of toxic landscapes as entirely invisible to the people they impact. Instead of accepting the standard definition of slow violence as ‘out of sight’, we have to instead ask the question: ‘out of sight to whom?’ In asking this question, and taking seriously the knowledge claims of communities who inhabit toxic spaces, we can begin to unravel the political structures that sustain the uneven geographies of pollution. Based on long-term ethnographic research in a postcolonial region of Louisiana, nicknamed ‘Cancer Alley’, this paper reveals how people gradually ‘witness’ the impacts of slow violence in their everyday lives. Finally, drawing on the notion of ‘epistemic violence’, the paper suggests that slow violence does not persist due to a lack of arresting stories about pollution, but because these stories do not count, thus rendering certain populations and geographies vulnerable to sacrifice.

「当事者はずし」としての環境汚染地買収と住民移転 : 米国「ガン街道」における環境汚染と人種差別

「当事者はずし」としての環境汚染地買収と住民移転 : 米国「ガン街道」における環境汚染と人種差別