Cancer Alley

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Cancer Alley is an area along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, in the River Parishes of Louisiana, which contains numerous industrial plants.

The name Cancer Alley is based on anecdotal evidence. There do not appear to be any scientific studies that clearly indicate that the incidence of cancer in this region is above the average for the rest of the United States, while there are studies (by Shell Oil Company) that indicate that it is actually lower.[1]

However, in one Louisiana town with a population under 20,000, 3 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma were reported in a 14 month period.[citation needed] Rhabdomysosarcoma, an extremely rare and devastating childhood cancer, has a national average of one child out of a million. It is clear that more research needs to be done.

A study by Frederic T. Billings III, M.D., argues that Louisiana does indeed have an alarmingly high lung cancer rate, but that the source is not the "cancer alley" parishes, but the other parishes of Louisiana, where tobacco smoking can be blamed for most of the lung cancer.[2]

Contents

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Mortality patterns among residents in Louisiana’s industrial corridor, USA, 1970–99, "
  2. ^ Frederic T. Billings III, M.D. (2005). Cancer Corridors and Toxic Terrors—is it Safe to Eat and Drink?. The American Clinical and Climatological Association.

[edit] Further reading

  • Nitzkin, Joel L. (April 1992), "Cancer in Louisiana: A Public Health Perspective". Journal of the Louisiana Medical Society. p. 162.

[edit] External links


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