The Atlantic
‘One Oppressive Economy Begets Another’
Louisiana’s petroleum industry profits from exploiting historic inequalities, showing how slavery laid the groundwork for environmental racism.
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Sharon Lavigne was teaching a special-education class when her daughter called to tell her about the Sunshine Project. Named for its proximity to Louisiana’s Sunshine Bridge, the operation, helmed by the Taiwanese behemoth Formosa Plastics, was on track to build one of the world’s largest plastic plants. Already the air Lavigne breathed in her native St. James Parish was some of the most toxic in the United States. Now Formosa planned to spend $9.4 billion on facilities that would make polymer and ethylene glycol, polyethylene, and polypropylene ingredients found in antifreeze, drainage pipes, and a variety of single-use plastics just two miles down the road from her family home. The concentration of carcinogens in the atmosphere could triple.
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Senator Bill Cassidy acknowledged that Louisiana had higher rates of cancer than other states but denied it down to the petrochemical industry, and instead blamed lifestyle choices (Getty Images)
A Republican senator from Louisiana has taken offense to President Joe Biden’s recent reference to the state’s “Cancer Alley”.
During a call with reporters this week, Senator Bill Cassidy called the description a “slam upon our state”.
“I m not going to accept that sort of slam upon our state,” Sen Cassidy said, according to Nola.com. “It sounds like great rhetoric. But again, I don t accept that slam.
Dec 10, 2020
THURSDAY, July 30, 2020 (HealthDay News) In a guideline update from the American Cancer Society, published online July 30 in
CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, recommendations are presented for cervical cancer screening of individuals at average risk.
Elizabeth T.H. Fontham, M.P.H., Dr.P.H., from the Louisiana State University School of Public Health in New Orleans, and colleagues present updated recommendations for cervical cancer screening for individuals at average risk.
The researchers recommend initiation of cervical cancer screening at age 25 years and continuing primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing every five years through age 65 years; if primary HPV testing is not available, cotesting (HPV testing in combination with cytology) should be performed every five years for individuals aged 25 to 65 years or cytology alone should be performed every three years. All cervical cancer screening should be discontinued for individuals aged >65 years with no hi