Louisiana has one of the highest cancer incidence rates in the country. It’s not because Louisianans are genetically predisposed to cancer. The high level of cancer rates in Louisiana is due to “Cancer Alley”, a region dotted with petrochemical plants along the Mississippi River. In LaPlace, Louisiana, a town in Cancer Alley, residents have been exposed to elevated levels of chloroprene, a carcinogen, since the opening of the Denka Performance Elastomer plant 40 years ago. In 1988 alone, the Denka facility emitted 479 tonnes of chloroprene. 

In February, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a complaint  against Denka citing the Clean Air Act. As a result, Denka needed to substantially cut its chloroprene emissions to protect LaPlace residents. However, after Denka counter-sued, the EPA dropped the complaint, claiming little chance of resolution by the July deadline. The EPA stepping away has left the community with a high health burden and little hope for legal recourse beyond a class action lawsuit. Today, our legal system is ill-equipped to hold corporations fully and consistently responsible for poor health outcomes. Reform is needed. 

As corporations pollute, surrounding communities face adverse health impacts. When people are exposed to dangerous levels of pollution, as in the case of LaPlace, the risk of adverse health effects increases. What if an individual diagnosed with cancer due to Denka’s action wanted to take legal action? After all, a doctor who didn’t do everything in their power to save a patient’s life would face legal action. Why not encourage that same accountability for polluting corporations? 

For plaintiffs, the biggest hurdle is proving a direct link between environmental exposures and health outcomes. This is due to the complex web created out of environmental pollutants and individual health determinants. Additionally, causation is confounded with the time lag between exposure and health effects, making the polluter at fault hard to pinpoint. That means individuals in LaPlace have few legal recourse options. 

Reforming our legal system could happen in a variety of ways. It might include rethinking traditional legal norms, increasing government funding to subsidize legal costs, or changing the laws around polluting entirely to place the legal burden on companies. 

There is hope for people facing environmental justice issues. Just last year, a court in Louisiana reversed the decision to issue air permits to Formosa Plastics in a community adjacent to LaPlace. Additionally, the EPA and the Department of Justice are taking additional action against Formosa. 

By reforming old legal norms and policies to the 21st century, environmental justice is possible. I’m going to explore what reform is needed in the legal system to ensure that individuals have accessible and reliable legal resources to pursue environmental justice.