[Guardian] Residents in the town of Reserve, Louisiana have been diagnosed with cancer at "highly unusual" rates, according to a new academic study, which is set to further embolden local residents in their fight against toxic emissions from a nearby chemical factory.The report, released Wednesday by the University Network for Human Rights (UNHR), provides residents with the most detailed and comprehensive evidence to date that they are at an especially pronounced risk of cancer and other negative health effects due to toxic chemicals in the air.
Reserve is the focus of a year-long Guardian series, Cancer Town, chronicling the fight for clean air in the predominantly black town, as well as other communities in the area between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, often referred to as Cancer Alley due to a concentration of toxic pollution from petrochemical factories.
The toxic emissions in Reserve, a town in St John the Baptist parish, primarily come from the Pontchartrain Works facility, the only place in America to manufacture the synthetic rubber neoprene. The US government considers chloroprene, the primary constituent of neoprene, as likely to be carcinogenic to humans.
Related: Chicago Tribune - More than half a million Americans exposed to toxic air pollution face cancer risks above EPA guidelines. Check the Tribune’s interactive map to see if you might be one of them.