since.

Box 443Portland, ME 04112-0443USA, Common Dreams is a small nonprofit with a big mission. The coronavirus pandemic is hitting people living inside 'Cancer Alley' hard. In 2001, Orion had a big fire, prompting locals to visit former Sen. John B. Breaux for his help.

Taylor told WBUR News that while people suspected the emissions were making people ill, taking on these companies was too much. Sources: Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Sources: The Nation, The Intercept, Rolling Stone, He told The Guardian his community was the lowest-hanging fruit, and they were okay "with just wiping us out. Please help keep Common Dreams alive by making a contribution. Between 1998 and 2000, he wrote to the EPA five times asking for it to delay compliance with federal pollution standards.

An aerial shot of the chemical plants and factories that line the roads and suburbs of the area known as 'Cancer Alley' taken on October 15, 2013. (Photo: Giles Clarke/Getty Images.). Some pollution measurements have improved. By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Business Insider Every donation—large or small—helps us bring you the news that matters. Locals live in the plants' shadows. ahem, NEVER GOES AWAY.

Formosa could also emit up to 13 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, the equivalent of three coal-fired power plants.”, The project would double the amount of toxic air emissions in St. James Parish and more than triple the levels of cancer-causing chemicals in the region, the Center points out, noting: “Among the pollutants the Formosa Plastics complex would emit are ethylene oxide, benzene and formaldehyde—all known carcinogens.”.
Residents felt the effects of the pollution.

The manual said it could enter the body through skin or inhalation, and high concentrations would cause "depression of the central nervous system and damage to vital organs.". But in August, the company announced the project was under review, and that another location was under review. Reverend Dr. William J. Barber has been helping the communities fight pollution. We don't survive on clicks. Louisiana's Cancer Alley is already one of the most polluted regions of the country, and it's being overrun by new oil and gas facilities. This has been the work of a group of local residents called RISE St. James, which has been pushing back against the project with the help of various environmental organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed a federal lawsuit against Formosa Plastics and has managed to put a temporary halt on construction. Victory: After Three Years of Battling in Court, the Trump Administration Abandons its Policy of Banning Abortion for Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors, Top 5 Most Horrible Things Trump Said in His Abnormal Debate, Voting, Ballot Rejection, and Electoral Integrity in the 2020 Election.

We have ethane to crack and plastic to produce. Although it was reformed by Gov.

Residents of St. John earn on average $17,000. Examples of pollution continue.

He's lost his mother, brother, sister, nephew, and several neighbors to cancer. The plant would be built about a mile from a local elementary school. Vice reported on April 8, St Johns the Baptist Parish had the highest death rate per capita of any county in the US, with 24 deaths.

He acknowledged their concerns, urged them to vote against President Donald Trump, and suggested they write a letter to the chemical plant.

According to The Advocate, while the reason for the review wasn't clarified, the company had previously expressed concern over President Donald Trump's trade war with China. We live in constant fear.". Without Your Support We Simply Don't Exist. Rolling Stone called it the frontline of "environmental racism," a term first used in the 1980s that refers to segregation around who gets exposed to contaminated elements. At the heart of Cancer Alley is Reserve, the majority Black town of 10,000 in which nearly every household has had someone die from cancer. A spokesperson for Louisiana Chemical Association said the problem could have come from too much sexual intercourse.

As recently as June, the risk of cancer in the area was up to 1,505 cancer cases per million people, nearly 50 times the national average. This is the message the activists of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”—a heavily industrialized, 85-mile strip of land along the Mississippi River, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge—have gotten from the local powers that be regarding their determination to prevent the construction of a gigantic, highly toxic, 14-plant plastics-production …

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Inside Louisiana's horrifying 'Cancer Alley,' an 85-mile stretch of pollution and environmental racism, After 13 days at sea and refusal by 5 ports, passengers aboard the Westerdam cruise ship are slated to disembark in Cambodia.

She told The Washington Post, "I respect chlorine just like I respect a gun.".

The EPA requires plants that are emitting over a certain threshold to report it. Like Lavigne said, it is one of only three options. ", Sources: Rolling Stone, NPR, The Nation, Washington Post. Finance for Agroecology: More Than Just a Dream? For years, residents have suffered from illnesses, but they've been unable to prove a causal connection between industry and the health effects. Don’t be ridiculous.

Inside Louisiana's horrifying 'Cancer Alley,' an 85-mile stretch of pollution and environmental racism. Pollution wafts into houses, smelling "pungent and rotten," like "singed plastic" or "poison, according to The Intercept. UK Court Told Assange Likely to Be Sent to Notorious US Prison, As McConnell Dismisses New Covid Relief Bill as 'Political Stunt,' Survey Shows 60% of US Families Struggling to Get By, From the Front Lines of California's Fires, Yolo County Joins 1,750+ Communities in Declaring Climate Emergency, So That the Truth May Prevail: Heroic Lone Juror Sues To Release Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Transcripts. Common DreamsP.O. The Guardian also reported that Dupont experimented with chloroprene on rats in 1971, and three out of 10 died from exposure. The industrial alley's pollution is a long-term problem and concerns three groups.

Neoprene is used to make wetsuits, gaskets, and hoses. And all this is just one aspect of the fossil fuel industry’s enormous “plastic pivot,” as the New York Times put it. It’s up to the residents to fight back to save their community.
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Sharon Lavigne, founder of protest group "Rise St. James," who recently changed its name to Coalition Against Death Alley, told Rolling Stone that locals can do one of three things: get sick, move away, or die. Craig Colten, a Louisiana State University geography professor told ProPublica, the black American communities they surrounded were effectively invisible. - Craig Brown, Co-founder. Whilst the chemical sector generates $80 billion for Louisiana every year. It got its name through the high number of people living with cancer in the alley, which runs for about 85 miles along the Mississippi River, from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Sources: MSNBC, ProPublica, The Nation, The New York Times, Telehealth Industry

Across the river, Wanhua Chemical Group plans to build a $1.25 billion plant over 250 acres to produce a plastic that's used to make polyurethane foam, for furniture and beds. It has one petrochemical plant for every 656 residents. They were attracted to the area's cheap land and easy river access. He told Rolling Stone that the land that once held people captive as slaves now holds them captive through pollution. Still, the abortion issue received coverage, and was one of the key issues that helped boost activism from locals.

Our Mission:To inform. "Cancer Alley" is an 85 mile-long stretch of the Mississippi river lined with oil …

Another thing that could harm an accurate measurement is that Louisiana measures only one chemical at a time. Another five await approval.

But we can't do it alone.

Thus: “It is obvious that St. James residents will get the pollution, but not the jobs.”, And finally, in the realm of irony: The country of Taiwan has tightened regulations on petrochemical companies, according to Bloomberg News, forcing Formosa Plastics to look elsewhere to satisfy its expansion needs. The sign says "land sharks" because Orion was gradually expanding closer and closer to the town. The gathering of the microplastic pellets was part of an awareness-raising event held last December called “Nurdlefest.”. Support Our Work -- Join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year.

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