"Along an 85-mile stretch of road in
Louisiana, residents have seven times the
cancer risk than the national average, have been diagnosed with chronic health conditions and babies are born underweight at three times the national average.
This road between Baton Rouge and New Orleans - on the banks of the
Mississippi River - has been dubbed 'Cancer Alley' and the people with houses along it
blame the high rates of illnesses on the place they live.
The area is home to approximately 200 fossil fuel and petrochemical operations - the largest concentration of these facilities in the western hemisphere.
The report accuses state and federal regulators of failing to properly monitor the industry and says the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has yet to address the dangers of fossil fuels and does not enforce the minimum standards set by the government to protect the environment and human health.
Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not monitored if Louisiana is complying with laws and mandates - and as a result is failing to protect the environment and local residents.
For years, residents along the road have suffered from higher rates of cancer, reproductive, maternal and newborn health complications, as well as respiratory illnesses.
The HRW report found the area in the US with the highest risk of cancer due to industrial air pollution - more than seven times the national average - is located in Cancer Alley."
Government agencies know this. Why hasn't it been addressed? They don't care about low income people no matter what they say.