Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116045

Beverly H. Wright, Ph D, M A, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Xavier University, 7325 Palmetto Street, Box 45 B, New Orleans, LA 70125, (504) 304-3324, bhwright@aol.com

Industrial Sprawl: Living and Dying in Louisiana's “Cancer Alley” Beverly Wright Email: bwright@aol.com Dillard University

Abstract

Many environmental and health disparities flow from land use and planning decisions that have favored the affluent over the poor and whites over blacks. Over the last two decades, grassroots activists in the U.S. have attempted to change the way government implements environmental, health, and civil rights laws. These groups have also organized, educated, and empowered themselves to make government and industry responsive to their needs. Discrimination influences land use, housing patterns, infrastructure development, and quality of life in African American communities. This pattern is typified in the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor in Louisiana, better known as “Cancer Alley.” Over 135 sprawling petrochemical plants line the 85-miles stretch of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, spewing hundreds of millions pounds of emission mixtures into the air, water, and ground to form a “toxic gumbo.” Zoning ordinances, deed restrictions, and other land-use mechanisms have been widely used as a "NIMBY" (not in my backyard) tool, operating through exclusionary practices. The “unholy” alliances between government and industry have created environmental “sacrifice zones” with African American communities on the front line of environmental and health assaults.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• List at least five indicators that link a healthy community to a healthy built environment.
• Identify collaborative opportunities for African American organizations, institutions, and academics in regional, state, and federal public health, built environment and physcial activity, and smart growth policymaking.
• To prioritize proven strategies for improving the health and well being of vulnerable African American populations, including low-income families, elderly and children.

Keywords: Environmental Justice, African American

Related Web page: www.dscej.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.