Toxins Harm Health (testing) | Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Inc.

Petrochemical facilities bring harm not help to our communities.

We all want to live in a world free from environmental harms that impact health, housing, jobs, and overall quality of life. Toxins from petrochemical facilities present a grave health threat to people living in the surrounding communities.

The same toxic pollution that threatens our health is also causing more extreme weather and damage to our homes and places where we work, play, and learn.

PROPOSED EXPANSION SITES

There are 29 facilities proposed or under construction, a majority of them in just ten Parishes across Louisiana. These maps illustrate the number of proposed facilities organized by Parish, and shine a light on the impact the toxins from the plants have on the health of people living nearby.

Click on the maps below to zoom in.

When we look at the sites for proposed and under construction facilities there is a direct correlation to the Parishes that already have the highest cancer risk in the Corridor.

Petrochemicals harm our bodies, homes, and wallets.

Petrochemicals have made their way into our air, water, and foods through items made from crude oil and natural gas.

OUR BODIES

Living in proximity to a petrochemical facility is a burden to our bodies and increases the rate of cancers and respiratory disease and other life-threatening conditions.

Learn more:

Toxins and Health

OUR HOMES

The people of Louisiana have been working hard to build a better life for their families for generations. Plans to expand oil and gas facilities will be harmful, not helpful to achieving our dreams.

A shelter in place advisory is an ineffective way to keep families safe. Toxic releases can seep inside of the home, and enter the food and water supply.

Learn more:

Toxic Facilities Lower Property Values for Homeowners

OUR WALLETS

The petrochemical industry argues that new plants will create jobs in the communities they are built in. But the opposite is true. Louisiana is the only state in which workers of color were underrepresented in the workforce and a recent study by Tulane University found that “between 2010 and 2022, the oil and gas industry in St. John the Baptist Parish received $19 million in first-year tax credits but created NO new direct jobs. ”

Learn More:

Oil and gas job promises out of reach for people of color: Employment disparities prevalent along ‘Cancer Alley’

Reporting on disparities in Louisiana’s oil and gas jobs (audio, 6-min listen)

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