There is an 85-mile stretch of land between Baton Rouge and New Orleans that has been nicknamed “Cancer Alley.” About a quarter of the country’s petrochemical production, plus several pipelines, oil refineries, and other gas and oil operations, pockmark the region. That has created an alarming number of health risks for its predominantly Black communities. In certain areas of one town, Reserve, residents face the country’s highest cancer risk—about 50 times the national average.

But in the past several years, locals have begun to fight back against these polluting plants. And not only are they winning, but they're also working to usher in more sustainable industries.

The toxic history that created this situation

Cancer Alley’s first chemical plants moved in during the late 1960s, and by the '80s, the area had become the country’s de facto headquarters for the petrochemical industry. Not only did the industry fail to deliver on its promise of jobs for residents, but the high concentration of plants polluted their communities with noxious smells, white smoke, yellow dust, and carcinogens. There was almost nothing that wasn’t affected: land, water, air, and, of course, health.

The cost of a proposed plant

Then, in 2018, Sharon Lavigne of St. James Parish, Louisiana, learned of a proposal to construct a $9.4 billion petrochemical plant two miles from her home. If built, the Formosa Plastics plant would release more than 13 million tons of greenhouse gases every year, plus carcinogenic chemicals—nearly doubling air pollution levels in the region.

Local government officials of St. James Parish actually made it easier for such companies to set up shop in two majority-Black districts when they rezoned them in a 2014 land use plan. Sharon’s daughter, Shamyra, believed financial incentives from the petrochemical industry—like building a new community park—helped these officials justify their decision. Except, in reality, for a project like the Formosa plant, local taxpayers would actually be subsidizing the company with billions of dollars in tax breaks. The bottom line: Residents would have paid with both their health and their wallets to live near a massive polluter.

How residents took a stand

To a community with an already high incidence of cancer, the Formosa proposal was a devastating blow to morale. For Sharon, it was a call to action. The retired special education teacher learned all she could about chemical and greenhouse gas pollution. Then she attended community meetings, organized protests, and started RISE St. James, a faith-based grassroots environmental justice group. Sharon and RISE’s hard work paid off last September when a district court judge canceled the air permits for the plant. Major wins against other plants followed.

What’s next for the region

To transform Cancer Alley into a place where sustainable industries and healthy communities can thrive will require much more work. RISE continues to play a key role by tackling other proposed production plants (and keeping an eye on Formosa Plastics, which plans to challenge the court ruling) while simultaneously working to support the development of solar farms in the area.

That said, the Formosa victory is definitely worth celebrating and, hopefully, a sign of better things to come. In fact, a month after the court ruling, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally acknowledged the environmental racism taking place in Cancer Alley and called on Louisiana’s regulators to analyze the cumulative impacts of polluting industries on local residents. “I was told when the governor approved this plan, it was a done deal, and there was nothing I could do about it,” Sharon said. “Well, look at me now. Look at it now.”

Learn more about the work Sharon and others are doing.

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