St. John residents confront health challenges amid environmental justice setbacks
May 22, 2025
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THERE IS GROWING CONCERN THAT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS IN LIMBO, THREATENING COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AT RISK NATIONWIDE. WDSU ANCHOR DARRYL FORGES BREAKS DOWN THE KEY CHANGES AND WHAT THIS COULD MEAN FOR LOUISIANA’S FUTURE. CANCER ALLEY IN SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH IT’S WHERE TISH TAYLOR AND HER FATHER, ROBERT TAYLOR, HAVE CALLED HOME FOR DECADES. IF I DRIVE YOU UP AND DOWN JUST ONE STREET, EAST 26TH STREET, WHERE I WAS RAISED, UP, I CAN POINT AT PRETTY MUCH EVERY HOME ON THAT STREET AND TELL YOU THAT SOMEONE IS RECOVERING FROM CANCER, IS FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES, OR TAKING CARE AND OR DYING, OR WE JUST BURIED SOMEBODY’S CANCER. ALLEY IS A STRETCH OF COMMUNITIES ALONG THE RIVER. PARISHES OF LOUISIANA WITH MULTIPLE INDUSTRIAL PLANTS AND FAMILIES LIKE THE TAYLORS SAY LIVING HERE HAS CAUSED SOME SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES. MY MOM HAD BREAST CANCER. NO HISTORY. MY BROTHER HAS KIDNEY DISEASE. MY SISTER HAS A RARE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE. THEIR HOME SITS JUST A FEW MILES AWAY FROM THE DINKA PLANT. BECAUSE OF THE TOXINS COMING FROM THE PLANT LIKE CHLOROPRENE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST DINKA. NOW UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. THAT LAWSUIT WAS DROPPED. WE WERE DEVASTATED. THE RESIDENTS IN SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH AND THE RESERVE AREA, THEY’VE BEEN LIVING WITH DUPONT DINKA FOR YEARS. THERE IS A SERIOUSLY HIGH CANCER RATE IN THAT COMMUNITY. DINKA RECENTLY PAUSED OPERATIONS OF CHLOROPRENE DUE TO REVENUE SETBACKS. BUT EVEN WITH THE SMALL VICTORY FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS, THE HITS CONTINUED. THE EPA CANCELED MORE THAN 400 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANTS TOTALING $1.7 BILLION. HERE AT EPA, OUR FIRST PILLAR OF POWERING THE GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK IS DOING OUR PART TO DELIVER CLEAN AIR, LAND AND WATER FOR ALL AMERICANS. THE EPA ALSO ELIMINATED THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ARMS OF THE DEPARTMENT, CLAIMING IT WAS NOT USED FOR WHAT IT WAS INTENDED FOR UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE HAS BEEN USED AS AN EXCUSE TO FUND LEFT WING ACTIVIST GROUPS INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY SPENDING THOSE DOLLARS ON DIRECTLY REMEDIATING THE SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. GETTING RID OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. HOW BIG OF A BLOW IS THAT FOR YOU ALL AT THIS POINT? IT’S A DEATH SENTENCE FOR US. IT’S LIKE ALMOST LIKE THE GOVERNMENT IS ALLOWING GENOCIDE. THEY’RE COMPLICIT IN GENOCIDE IN CANCER ALLEY. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR RIGHT NOW WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE SET UP RIGHT NOW? MY BIGGEST FEAR IS. PEOPLE LOSING HOPE IN MASS. THAT’S ONE OF THE BIGGEST FEARS. MICHAEL MCKENZIE IS AN ACTIVIST CREATING DOCUMENTARIES ON THE ONGOING ISSUE OF ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM. WHILE HE BELIEVES ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WILL TAKE A HIT IN FUNDING IN THEIR CAUSE, MCKENZIE SAYS THE FOCUS SHOULD BE ON ANOTHER TYPE OF JUSTICE NARRATIVE. JUSTICE. SO WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TELL THE STORIES. FOLKS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO COME TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY AND GOOD ALWAYS WINS, YOU KNOW, GOOD ALWAYS HAS THE LUNGS TO WIN. AND HISTORY TELLS US THAT. AND FOR THE TAYLOR FAMILY, THEY’RE HOPING TO CONTINUE THAT FIGHT. THEY STARTED THE CONCERNED CITIZENS OF SAINT JOHN FIGHTING ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM IN THEIR COMMUNITY. IF YOU CAN’T REGULATE WHO’S ALREADY HERE, IF THEY’RE POISONING US, WE WANT NOTHING ELSE IN THIS, IN THIS PARISH OR ANYWHERE IN CANCER ALLEY, UNLESS IT’S CLEAN ENERGY. WE DON’T WANT ANY MORE TOXINS COMING TO OUR PARISH. FOR WDSU NEWS, I’M DARRYL FORGES. THE EPA RELEASED A STATEMENT ON THE CUTS MADE TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, SAYING IN PART, QUOTE, THE U.S. CAN PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND GROW THE ECONOMY. AT THE SAME TIME. IN FACT, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS TAKING STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO ENSURE EPA ADHERES TO THE AGENCY’S CORE MISSION OF PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND EMPOWERING THE GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK. CONGRESSMAN TROY CARTER, ALSO RESPONDING TO THE EPA CUTS, SAYING IN PART, QUOTE, I WILL CHALLENGE THESE RECKLESS CUTS. OUR COMMUNITIES ARE NOT DISPOSABLE. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS NOT OPTIONAL. AND WE WILL NOT LET POLITICAL GAINS THREATEN THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND FUTURE OF THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA, END QUOTE. AND ACTIVISTS SAY THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH THEIR CAUSE THROUGH THE COURTS IN HOPE OF APPEALING ANYTHING FROM THE
St. John the Baptist residents confront health challenges amid environmental justice setbacks
Residents of St. John the Baptist Parish, an area some have coined “Cancer Alley,” are experiencing health issues they attribute to nearby industrial plants. This comes as environmental justice efforts face significant challenges. Tish Taylor, who has lived in St. John the Baptist Parish for decades, described the impact on her community.”If I drive you up and down one street, East 26th Street, where I was raised, I can point at pretty much every home on that street and tell you that someone is recovering from cancer, is fighting for their lives, or dying, or we just buried someone,” said Taylor.The Taylor family lives near the Denka plant, which has been linked to health issues due to toxins like chloroprene.”My mom had breast cancer, no history, my brother has kidney disease, my sister has rare autoimmune disease,” Taylor said. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Denka, which had been dropped during the Trump administration. “We were devastated, we were devastated. The residence in St. John the Baptist Parish and Reserve area, they’ve been living with DuPont Denka for years. There’s a seriously high cancer rate in that community.”Denka recently paused operations of chloroprene due to revenue setbacks, but environmentalists faced another setback when the EPA canceled more than 400 environmental justice grants totaling $1.7 billion. “Here at the EPA, our first pillar of power in the great American comeback is doing our part to deliver clean air, land, and water for all Americans,” said Lee Zeldin with the EPA. The EPA also eliminated the environmental justice arms of the department, claiming it wasn’t used for its intended purpose under the Biden administration. “Environmental justice has been used as an excuse to fund leveling activist groups, instead of spending those dollars on direct remediating the specific environmental issues that need to be addressed,” said Zeldin. For residents like the Taylors, the elimination of environmental justice efforts is a significant blow. “At this point, this is a death sentence for us, it’s like almost like the government is allowing genocide. They’re complicit in genocide and Cancer Alley,” Taylor said. The community’s biggest fear is losing hope. “My biggest fear is people losing hope en masse, that’s one of my biggest fears.”Activist Michael McKenzie, who creates documentaries on environmental racism, believes that while environmental justice will take a hit in funding, the focus should shift to narrative justice. “We’re gonna continue to tell the stories, folks are gonna continue to come together in solidarity, and good always wins. Good always has the lungs to win, and history tells us that,” McKenzie said.The Taylor family is determined to continue their fight against environmental racism through their organization, Concerned Citizens of St. John. “If you can’t regulate, who’s already here, if they’re poisoning us, we want nothing else in this parish, anywhere in Cancer Alley unless it’s clean energy. We don’t want any more toxins coming to our parish,” Taylor said.
Residents of St. John the Baptist Parish, an area some have coined “Cancer Alley,” are experiencing health issues they attribute to nearby industrial plants.
This comes as environmental justice efforts face significant challenges.
Tish Taylor, who has lived in St. John the Baptist Parish for decades, described the impact on her community.
“If I drive you up and down one street, East 26th Street, where I was raised, I can point at pretty much every home on that street and tell you that someone is recovering from cancer, is fighting for their lives, or dying, or we just buried someone,” said Taylor.
The Taylor family lives near the Denka plant, which has been linked to health issues due to toxins like chloroprene.
“My mom had breast cancer, no history, my brother has kidney disease, my sister has rare autoimmune disease,” Taylor said. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Denka, which had been dropped during the Trump administration. “We were devastated, we were devastated. The residence in St. John the Baptist Parish and Reserve area, they’ve been living with DuPont Denka for years. There’s a seriously high cancer rate in that community.”
Denka recently paused operations of chloroprene due to revenue setbacks, but environmentalists faced another setback when the EPA canceled more than 400 environmental justice grants totaling $1.7 billion.
“Here at the EPA, our first pillar of power in the great American comeback is doing our part to deliver clean air, land, and water for all Americans,” said Lee Zeldin with the EPA.
The EPA also eliminated the environmental justice arms of the department, claiming it wasn’t used for its intended purpose under the Biden administration.
“Environmental justice has been used as an excuse to fund leveling activist groups, instead of spending those dollars on direct remediating the specific environmental issues that need to be addressed,” said Zeldin.
For residents like the Taylors, the elimination of environmental justice efforts is a significant blow.
“At this point, this is a death sentence for us, it’s like almost like the government is allowing genocide. They’re complicit in genocide and Cancer Alley,” Taylor said. The community’s biggest fear is losing hope. “My biggest fear is people losing hope en masse, that’s one of my biggest fears.”
Activist Michael McKenzie, who creates documentaries on environmental racism, believes that while environmental justice will take a hit in funding, the focus should shift to narrative justice.
“We’re gonna continue to tell the stories, folks are gonna continue to come together in solidarity, and good always wins. Good always has the lungs to win, and history tells us that,” McKenzie said.
The Taylor family is determined to continue their fight against environmental racism through their organization, Concerned Citizens of St. John.
“If you can’t regulate, who’s already here, if they’re poisoning us, we want nothing else in this parish, anywhere in Cancer Alley unless it’s clean energy. We don’t want any more toxins coming to our parish,” Taylor said.
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