Louisiana
US: Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’
(Washington, DC) – The fossil fuel and petrochemical industry in the Louisiana area that has come to be known as “Cancer Alley” has devastated the health, lives, and environment of residents, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Cancer Alley refers to an approximately 85-mile stretch of communities along the banks of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where communities exist side by side with some 200 fossil fuel and petrochemical operations.
The 98-page report, “‘We’re Dying Here’: The Fight for Life in a Louisiana Fossil Fuel Sacrifice Zone,” documents how residents of Cancer Alley suffer the effects of extreme pollution from the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry, facing elevated rates and risks of maternal, reproductive, and newborn health harms, cancer, and respiratory ailments. Parts of Cancer Alley have the highest risk of cancer from industrial air pollution in the United States. These harms are disproportionately borne by the area’s Black residents.
“The fossil fuel and petrochemical industry has created a ‘sacrifice zone’ in Louisiana,” said Antonia Juhasz, senior researcher on fossil fuels at Human Rights Watch. “The failure of state and federal authorities to properly regulate the industry has dire consequences for residents of Cancer Alley.”
From September 2022 to January 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 70 people, including 37 Cancer Alley residents, and traveled throughout the region to document the human rights impacts of fossil fuel and petrochemical operations on local residents. Cancer Alley residents described the impact on their health, including miscarriages, high-risk pregnancies, infertility, the poor health of newborns, respiratory ailments, and cancer. Many shared stories of entire communities devastated by cancer, the deaths of family and friends, missed days of work and school due to illness, and children rushed to emergency rooms suffering from asthma attacks.
The report includes new research revealing the toll of air pollution on maternal, reproductive, and newborn health in Cancer Alley, done by researchers at Tulane University in New Orleans in a paper currently under peer review for publication in the “Environmental Research: Health” journal. The researchers found exceptionally elevated rates of low birthweight and preterm birth, as much as triple the US average. Those parts of Louisiana with the highest rates of adverse birth outcomes correspond to those with the worst air pollution, including areas within Cancer Alley.
For decades, Louisiana’s regulatory authorities, particularly the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, have failed to address the severity of harm from fossil fuel and petrochemical operations, enforce minimum standards set by the federal government, and protect the health of local residents. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not ensured that federal laws and mandates are enforced in Louisiana, and as such, is failing to protect residents from harm caused by the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry.
In December 2023, for the first time in global climate conferences under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the final outcome agreement of the UN Climate Conference, COP28, called on governments to begin “transitioning away from fossil fuels.” Immediate implementation of this commitment in Cancer Alley would have profound benefits for the health of residents of the area.
Also on January 25, Amnesty International released a report titled “The Cost of Doing Business? The Petrochemical Industry’s Toxic Pollution in the USA.” The reports by two of the world’s largest human rights organizations expose the devastating human rights toll of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry on frontline communities in the US and say that state and federal authorities should take immediate actions to address this harm.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality should increase regulations and enforcement, deny permits in already overburdened communities, and support local calls for moratoriums on new or expanded fossil fuel and petrochemical operations.
The EPA should order fossil fuel and petrochemical facilities posing an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment to immediately pause all operations. The agency should also object to permits in already overburdened communities, support moratoria on new or expanded fossil fuel and petrochemical projects, and implement a remediation and relocation plan.
“It’s long past time for governments to uphold their human rights obligations and for these sacrifices to end,” said Juhasz.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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