The U.S. courts recently decided to dismiss the lawsuit of Black Louisiana residents who claimed that polluting petrochemical plants have intentionally been placed in BIPOC communities.
First reported by Reuters, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier of a New Orleans court threw away the case on the basis that the lawsuit was filed too late.
Per the judge, the lawsuit should’ve been filed when the ordinance first passed in 2014. Although Barbier didn’t dismiss the group’s claims, he also claimed that some of the health effects listed weren’t able to be directly attributed to the factories.
Filed in March, the case was part of efforts by community groups RISE St. James, Inclusive Louisiana and the Mount Triump Baptist Church against the St. James Parish land use plan.
According to the plaintiffs, the local government contributed to the harming of the health of Black residents by agreeing to the creation of numerous factories in two different districts.
These factories are notorious for releasing petrochemicals which are chemicals derived from petroleum. The community groups also claimed that the factories were built upon burial grounds of ancestors who were also suspected of passing away due to toxins.
“We stand here today to say we will not be ignored,” said Shamyra Lavigne, a resident that’s part of the Rise St. James group, at a press conference first announcing the lawsuit per AP News. “You will not sacrifice our lives. And we will not take any more industry in the fourth or fifth district of St. James. Enough is enough.”
The community leaders are residents of what is known as the “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana.
Stretching along an 85-mile expanse near the Mississippi River, Cancer Alley, or Death Alley, has been called one of the clearest examples of environmental racism by professionals such as the EPA.
Per a study by Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, these neighborhoods with the most toxic air recorded an average rate of 502 cases of cancer per every 100,000 residents. This particular rate was more than that of the total state of Louisiana which averaged approximately 480.3 cases per every 100,000 people.
In Cancer Alley, a majority of residents are Black. Near the Denka plant alone, 93% of residents living one mile away are Black Americans.
In an EPA survey, 40% of the respondents near the plant reported that they experience daily chest pain and heart palpitation as one-third also reported they have breathing issues. Over a third said they have regular skin rashes and almost half of the children said they suffered from headaches and nosebleeds.
According to the EPA, their findings indicate a need for change.
“Our findings strongly indicate that prevalence of cancer and other illness among residents surveyed is unusually high compared to what we would expect using national actuarial tables.” said the EPA in their report. “These results are disturbing enough to warrant additional in-depth, localized, and rigorous health studies in the area surrounding the Denka/DuPont plant and throughout Cancer Alley.”
