On August 25, 2023, thick black smoke filled the sky over Garyville, Louisiana, considered a part of Cancer Alley, as a fire erupted at the Marathon Petroleum refinery. The blaze, fueled by highly flammable naphtha, sent residents scrambling, unsure if it was safe to stay or flee.

Sani, 13, stood outside with her mother, Janae, watching the flames rise. Sani already suffers from asthma and recurring respiratory issues, conditions that have worsened over the years with each industrial fire, each chemical release. "Sometimes, the smell is so bad that you can't stand it," Sani said, describing the air that lingers even on clear days.

A neighbor asked Janae, "Why do you stay here, while the tank burns next to you?"

"To go where?" she said. "We ain't nowhere to go."

In the following weeks, investigations by The Guardian and Forensic Architecture revealed flaws in Marathon's emergency response and raised questions about the company's public statements on pollutant levels. A class-action lawsuit was soon expanded to include 16,000 affected residents, seeking over $5 million in damages and greater transparency from Marathon.

Between Baton Rouge and New Orleans lies a 150-mile stretch along the Mississippi River known as Cancer Alley. This region hosts over 150 petrochemical facilities and oil refineries—the highest concentration of such industries in the Western Hemisphere. For the residents of Cancer Alley, industrial pollution is an inescapable part of daily life. Many have lost family members to cancer or respiratory illnesses, while others battle ongoing health issues. Communities report widespread cases of asthma, birth defects, and other conditions linked to industrial pollutants. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), certain areas within Cancer Alley have cancer risks from industrial air pollution that are more than seven times the national average.

One of the most alarming cases of environmental injustice in Cancer Alley is the plight of Fifth Ward Elementary School in St. John the Baptist Parish. Located just 450 feet from the Denka Performance Elastomer plant, the school has been at the center of a years-long battle over air pollution. Chloroprene, a chemical used in the production of synthetic rubber, has been classified by the EPA as a likely human carcinogen—meaning it can cause cancer with prolonged exposure. One day in November 2017, EPA monitoring found chloroprene levels in the air around the school at 755 times the agency's recommended safety level, putting students and staff at severe risk of cancer and respiratory illnesses.

Read the full article about living on Cancer Alley by Wayan Barre at Scalawag Magazine.