Mossville, Louisiana Residents Face Cancer Cluster from 14 Chemical Plants

Mossville, Louisiana — a historically Black freedmen's community founded in the 1790s — was surrounded by 14 petrochemical and industrial plants. A 2003 study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found dioxin levels in Mossville residents' blood three times the national average. Residents experienced elevated rates of cancer, diabetes, and respiratory illness. The EPA declined to declare Mossville a Superfund site despite petitions from the Louisiana Environmental Action Netwo