About the Report
Researchers at the Environmental Law Clinic at Tulane analyzed data from the Louisiana Tumor Registry to determine whether cancer rates are linked to levels of toxic air pollution. Clients of the clinic who live in Cancer Alley – the industrialized corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans – have long maintained that their communities are overburdened with cancer from toxic air pollution. But state decision-makers have repeatedly pointed to Louisiana Tumor Registry reports that show a mix of higher and lower than average cancer rates across Cancer Alley. Clinic researchers suspected there was more to this story because different neighborhoods in Cancer Alley are exposed to different levels of toxic air pollution. Plus, some neighborhoods were industrialized more recently, and cancer can take years or decades to develop. By looking at the entire picture, including race, poverty, and historic pollution levels, the researchers confirmed what environmental law clinic clients have said for decades: toxic air pollution is linked to higher cancer rates in Louisiana.
Click below to download the Report.
