Louisiana Communities Are Left in the Dark on Toxic Air, and Industry Helped Keep It that Way
High poverty, industrial pollution and obesity kept the state at 50th, while U.S. News said it still ranked No. 1 for affordability.
- Louisiana ranked 50th in the 2026 U.S. News Best States report, marking the fourth consecutive year the state has placed last among all U.S. states.
- The report cites significant hardships including high poverty, obesity rates, and poisonous industrial pollution as primary factors driving Louisiana's low score.
- Data from the report shows industrial toxins of 2,944 pounds per square mile, double the national incarceration rate, and 3,691 preventable hospital admissions per 100,000 Medicare patients.
- The report does not reflect recent job growth during an ongoing industrial boom or Louisiana's national leadership in academic reading gains, potentially understating current progress.
- Environmental advocates contend the state's monitoring network is "not adequate to protect the health of the community," as industrial facilities operate without continuous oversight of toxic pollutants.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Louisiana study ties Cancer Alley pollution to children's learning disabilities
People who live near Louisiana's dense stretch of industrial plants known as "Cancer Alley" have long worried about the toll those facilities may be taking on children and their education. New research now adds data to those concerns and intensifies questions about pollution's role in both children's health and their performance in school, The Lens reported. What happened? According to a commentary piece in The Lens, new findings from the CoDA E…
Louisiana communities are left in the dark on toxic air, and industry helped keep it that way - Seward Independent
Louisiana communities are left in the dark on toxic air, and industry helped keep it that wayKimbrelle Kyereh lives just a few hundred feet from the massive chemical storage tanks in St. Rose, in southeastern Louisiana. Oily fumes sometimes drift into her home, bringing headaches, nausea and insomnia. On one such night, she grabbed her son at 3 a.m. and fled to an all-night IHOP.In 2023, after years of coping with the noxious odors, Kyereh began…
InsideNoVA.com
Louisiana communities are left in the dark on toxic air, and industry helped keep it that way
Floodlight reports Louisiana communities struggle with toxic air pollution, as industry influences laws limiting monitoring, leaving residents unaware of dangers.
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