EPA Opens , Civil Rights Investigations , in Louisiana .<br />The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking into a highly-polluted industrial corridor of Louisiana known locally as Cancer Alley. .<br />The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking into a highly-polluted industrial corridor of Louisiana known locally as Cancer Alley. .<br />'The Guardian' reports that the EPA has opened <br />a series of civil rights investigations into whether <br />state agencies violated Black citizens' rights. .<br />'The Guardian' reports that the EPA has opened <br />a series of civil rights investigations into whether <br />state agencies violated Black citizens' rights. .<br />The investigations will focus <br />on Louisiana’s environment department (LDEQ) <br />over a series of permits approved in the region.<br />According to 'The Guardian,' the region which <br />is comprised primarily of Black communities <br />experiences chronic air pollution.<br />One investigation will reportedly examine whether the state's health department violated the rights of residents living near a neoprene facility in St. John.<br />One investigation will reportedly examine whether the state's health department violated the rights of residents living near a neoprene facility in St. John.<br />The neoprene facility is reportedly the only <br />location in America to emit chloroprene, which <br />is listed by the EPA as a likely human carcinogen.<br />According to 'The Guardian,' residential areas located <br />around the site often record levels of chloroprene <br />above the EPA's lifetime exposure guidelines. .<br />In the neighboring area of St. James, <br />an investigation will look into permits for a massive plastics site permitted to emit up to 15,400 pounds<br />of the cancer-causing chemical ethylene oxide.<br />According to 'The Guardian,' <br />that project has been placed on hold while <br />it awaits review by the federal government. .<br />Environmental advocates and researchers <br />argue that the state's permitting processes , are clearly racially biased.<br />We need this investigation from <br />the perspective of racial injustice. <br />It is so obvious what’s happening <br />is discriminatory, Robert Taylor, president of the Concerned <br />Citizens of St. John, via 'The Guardian'
