Investigated the Cancer Capital of America...
#cancer #america
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Everybody got cancer. I got no cancer.
00:03This is Reserve, Louisiana, the cancer capital of America.
00:07I just died like the day before yesterday from cancer.
00:09My daddy died of cancer.
00:12I hope I don't have cancer.
00:14The EPA says the cancer risk here is almost 50 times the national average.
00:20The plant puts people who live and work near the facility
00:23at the highest risk of developing cancer in the country.
00:26More than 100 petrochemical plants and refineries dot this corridor
00:30between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, often referred to as Cancer Alley.
00:34Go a half mile farther away and the cancer rate drops significantly.
00:38But how many people actually have cancer here and what can be done to stop this?
00:42So I met up with Robert, an 82-year-old lifetime resident of Reserve
00:46who lives a few blocks from the plant.
00:48I lost my mother to a weird cancer.
00:51My brother, my other daughters had cancers.
00:54My neighbors and friends.
00:56Robert, where are we right now?
00:58We're in the center of Cancer Alley.
01:00How long have you lived here?
01:01I was born here in 1940, but then the petrochemical industry showed up.
01:07They treat us like we're animals or something. I mean, it's terrible.
01:11If we go up and down this community, you won't find a home here
01:15that hasn't been touched by cancer. Really, it is that bad.
01:20Hey there.
01:21How's it going?
01:22We're knocking door to door.
01:23We're trying to talk to some people that live here and ask them about Cancer Alley
01:26and see if they know anyone who's had cancer.
01:28How are you taking pictures? Get away from my house.
01:30Oh, okay. Sorry. Thanks a bunch. See ya. Sorry.
01:32Might have no cancer out here.
01:34Okay. Is it like a controversial thing?
01:36No.
01:37No?
01:38No cancer. No cancer.
01:40Have access.
01:41Okay. They were pissed.
01:43Get out of here.
01:44Yeah.
01:45I didn't know that. I would have went with you.
01:48I'm going out of here.
01:49I just want to see all the plants around here.
01:52Everybody got cancer. I got throat cancer.
01:55You got...
01:56I don't want to be on no news.
01:57Okay. So, it is a contentious thing to talk about out here.
02:00We're getting told to f*** off. Get the f*** out of here.
02:03There's a lot of sensitivity about this topic for obvious reasons.
02:06Robert told me a lot of people in reserve work for these plants or know someone that does.
02:11So, speaking out on the relationship between the plant and cancer is somewhat taboo.
02:15Do you know anyone who's gotten cancer out here?
02:17Is it pretty common for people to get it out here?
02:19Yeah.
02:20You got this plant called Decker.
02:22That's the one that's polluting all the cancer.
02:24So, you might want to go to the last street.
02:27It's called 30th.
02:28That's where it's doing the most killing at.
02:30Okay.
02:31Somebody just died like the day before yesterday from cancer.
02:33A lot of my people died from cancer.
02:35And these factories are the ones polluting?
02:36Yeah.
02:37Okay. Thank you for your time, sir.
02:3830th seems to be the epicenter.
02:40It is the closest to these factories out here.
02:42We're going to pull up to these real quick.
02:44See who and what we can find.
02:45But before I spoke to people living on 30th,
02:48I drove to the infamous DuPont Denka plant emitting chloroprene into the air
02:52and giving the people that live nearby cancer.
02:54Four years ago, Robert flew 7,000 miles to their headquarters in Tokyo, Japan
02:59and tried to get answers from the executives.
03:01Some people who you know and who you represent are profiteering off of the suffering
03:07that's being put on my people by DuPont Denka.
03:10They were turned away.
03:11Denka later told them they couldn't meet because of pending litigation.
03:15They demonstrated to us today that they don't care about what's happening to the people in Reserve Louisiana.
03:23You know, I brought people on tours and I went right in the front right there, I parked.
03:29And they called the police for me.
03:31First they sent out the guards, come running out.
03:34As we drove in undetected, I began to notice some rather ironic signs placed everywhere.
03:39Think safe, stay safe from cancer that we're giving you and your family.
03:43Safety is everyone's responsibility.
03:45The irony of these signs is that everyone living around this factory is getting cancer.
03:49And little did I know the DuPont Denka plant was one of over 150 petrochemical plants
03:55along what's known as Cancer Alley,
03:57an 85-mile stretch of land along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
04:02Environmentalists refer to Cancer Alley as a sacrifice zone,
04:05but DuPont Denka claims
04:07the company says the EPA's chloroprene concerns are based on faulty science,
04:11resulting in a dramatically inflated risk factor.
04:14Surrounding this entire city we see factories right now.
04:17Look at this horrible thing right here, man.
04:20This is a grain elevator.
04:21They do import and exports of grains.
04:24And this also pollutes the environment?
04:26Oh, terribly so.
04:28It's what's called grain dust.
04:30That contaminated water right there, can I drink from it?
04:32No, you can't drink from the city water here.
04:36We don't drink the water here, we buy water.
04:39Could I take a shower out here?
04:41Well, that's the one thing that we're worried about
04:44because we can't find a way to take a shower.
04:47We've got to shower in this water.
04:49This is the one plant that I was telling you that produces a known carcinogen.
04:55There's just so many of them.
04:56And they're right next door to what is called nalcochemical,
05:00which is an entirely different chemical.
05:02What are we in front of right now?
05:03I'm feeling a little burn in the eyes.
05:05This is an aluminum factory.
05:06And this horrible stuff you see here pervades this whole community.
05:10What health effects is this aluminum known to have on people?
05:13They're quiet about that.
05:15They're quiet about it.
05:16I can taste something in the air right now, feel it burn my eyes a little bit.
05:19Factories everywhere.
05:20Seeing all of these plants pollute the air, water, and soil with various carcinogens,
05:25you might be wondering...
05:26Why haven't you moved?
05:27Why should I move?
05:29How can I move?
05:30I struggled all my life to build this.
05:33What is happening in Americans?
05:35A poor person right now, in good conscience,
05:38who would I actually sell this house to?
05:42What poor, unsuspecting family would I trick into moving into this debt trap?
05:48And to add insult to injury, Robert lived here before the plants were even built.
05:52In 1963, I noticed the construction.
05:56We could see the construction going on when we passed on the highway right there.
06:01We knew nothing about it.
06:02No, they never talked to us formally.
06:04We saw the white residents moving out.
06:07We didn't know why.
06:08And how did they know?
06:09Well, because they told them.
06:11I had to move my wife out.
06:13My wife is living in Anaheim, California with my youngest son.
06:17My baby daughter got this very rare disease that our doctors told her was brought on
06:23by her lifelong exposure to chloroprene.
06:26I had to move.
06:27She's in New Orleans.
06:28The disease she got is so rare, it's terrible, man.
06:32And people still live here to my left right now?
06:34There are some people that have moved in here.
06:37And look at that. Boom. Factory.
06:39Wow.
06:40What is that factory right there?
06:42That's Marathon Oil.
06:44That's an oil refinery.
06:45Second largest in the United States.
06:47There's a few homes as we're driving through.
06:50It seems insane to live wedged in between two factories.
06:54All this pollution from all ends.
06:56It's going to dramatically reduce your lifespan.
06:58I can smell a much stronger smell in the air.
07:00Closest comparison is what I've tasted and felt in Ohio
07:04when the train wreckage spilled a bunch of stuff.
07:09Hey there.
07:10I just want to ask, do you ever have difficulty breathing out here?
07:14We breathe all the pollen and dust.
07:17Okay.
07:18Is there any history of cancer with your family or anyone who's lived with you?
07:22My mama had breast cancer.
07:24Did she live here?
07:25Yeah.
07:26Had a little brother that died of leukemia.
07:28Do you feel like they're responsible for the cancer?
07:31For the chemicals, I guess.
07:34Don't shoot me. Don't shoot me. Don't shoot me.
07:36Hey, how are you?
07:37I was wondering if you knew anyone who's had cancer out here.
07:40My neighbor has skin cancer.
07:43Skin cancer?
07:44Yeah.
07:45Took over all his things.
07:47Do you think it's because of the factories around here?
07:49I have no idea.
07:51Cancer is everywhere.
07:54Everybody has cancer.
07:57Have you lived here your whole life?
07:58Oh, yeah.
07:59We moved here when I was a baby.
08:02I'm 76.
08:04I wouldn't have thought a day over 50.
08:08How is it living in between these two factories?
08:11Oh, we have dust.
08:14Dust?
08:15Dust.
08:16I think that's why we got cancer.
08:19I hope I don't have cancer.
08:21Yeah.
08:22No, me too.
08:23Have any of your family members had anything?
08:25My daddy died of cancer.
08:28Would you move out of here if you could?
08:30Oh, no.
08:31No? This is home?
08:32I'm going to die.
08:33Cynthia, it's been a pleasure. It was great to meet you.
08:35Thanks.
08:36Oh, y'all, he's so cold.
08:38I know. I'm chilling.
08:39The consensus is that everyone out here knows someone, if not their family member, neighbor, or themselves, who's gotten cancer out here.
08:45This is kind of crazy.
08:46And keep in mind, this isn't even the street closest to the Danca factory where people are most affected by cancer.
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09:59Now let's go back on the ground and see who else has been affected by Cancer Alley.
10:03As we made our way to 30th, Robert pointed out a huge graveyard wedged in between two factories.
10:08Whoa, there it is. And you have loved ones in this cemetery?
10:11Oh, all of my folks.
10:13This is the largest black cemetery in the parish.
10:16Look at this. How do you do a funeral service here? How do you do a burial?
10:20Look at what they do to people, man. Look how inhuman this is.
10:25Do you see the size of this cemetery, man?
10:27This is sad.
10:29Wow. You can smell it big time now, Robert.
10:31This is pretty dystopian. This is a nightmare, honestly.
10:34As we're here, is this an emotional experience? Do you get frustrated?
10:37It's always emotional.
10:39My mom, all of my family.
10:43They're just a little further back in here, but they're scattered mostly all over here, man.
10:48Let's see what people have started doing. Look, they're building on top.
10:51Oh, these are two coffins on top of one another.
10:54They got to stack them. We're the sacrifice peoples. We're the sacrificial lambs here.
10:58And the most tragic irony here is a lot of these people died due to the cancer received from the factories
11:04they are now wedged in between after death.
11:06We're headed to 30th and 31st.
11:08This is the part of town that lives the closest to this factory and is logically getting the most cancer.
11:13We're going to drive through here, knock on some doors, see who we can talk to.
11:16It seems like everyone and their mother out here is getting cancer, and there's not much you can do about it.
11:20On my way to 30th, driving through factory after factory, I saw this street full of people on my way and gave it a quick knock.
11:29We wanted to ask you if you knew anything about Cancer Alley.
11:31Do you know people that have gotten cancer out here?
11:33My husband has prostate cancer.
11:35Really? Okay.
11:36I'm not from here, but I know a lot of people that have. I mean, like, many.
11:42We're basically just trying to hear any opinions and experiences with cancer out here and Cancer Alley.
11:48Only thing I'm going to tell you is my sister, she died of cancer.
11:52She died?
11:53She died March 8th of 2023 of this year.
11:55I'm sorry to hear.
11:56Of cancer.
11:57So we've noticed it's very controversial to talk about this out here. Is it a sensitive subject?
12:01Yeah, it is because we lose so many people.
12:03In my family, just alone, we done lost 12 people.
12:05That's crazy.
12:06How does the city look at cancer out here? Are they fed up with it?
12:09Fed up.
12:10Every time we turn around, we're losing somebody to cancer.
12:13Do the factories and the companies ever say, hey, here's some money, sorry about that?
12:18No.
12:19No?
12:20No.
12:21Do you think the factories will ever shut down?
12:22No, not Marathon. Marathon will never shut down.
12:25It's too big?
12:26Too big. But them, they can close down.
12:28Danka?
12:29Yeah, Danka can close down because the things we see at night, you can smell it in the air.
12:33I can kind of taste it, yeah.
12:35Yeah, you can.
12:36Like I said, I just lost my only sister of March of this year.
12:40My sister was living on 30th Street.
12:42Okay, so the closer you get to 30th, the closer you are to the factories.
12:45You're in a backyard. You're in a backyard of the plants and everything.
12:48Having walked through a few streets leading up to 30th, we had finally made it to the zone theoretically most affected by chloroprene and in turn, cancer.
12:56They're the closest to the factory on this street right here.
12:59Do you guys know anyone who's got cancer out here?
13:02Everybody you're looking.
13:03Really?
13:04Yeah.
13:05Right here?
13:06The tarp?
13:07Okay, thank you so much.
13:09Hey, sorry to interrupt.
13:10Hello.
13:11And we're making a little documentary about Cancer Alley.
13:13Do you know anyone who's gotten cancer out here?
13:15Um, this household, that household, that household, the one up for it.
13:20They all do?
13:21Yeah.
13:22And nothing's been done about it for 50 years.
13:24The seed is already planted. It's in the ground. All my trees are dead.
13:27That's too late almost.
13:28Yeah.
13:29Yeah?
13:30My parents had cancer three times.
13:32Did they link it to...
13:33Um, they had breast cancer, which was inherited. Then she had colon cancer.
13:37Then she died from ovarian cancer at 89 years old.
13:41Jeez, okay. Thank you for sharing.
13:42My brother, yeah. He died though.
13:44Of cancer?
13:45Yeah.
13:46I know a few people that didn't die of cancer. My niece.
13:48A good bit of people.
13:49Is it something that's talked about out here?
13:52Yeah, kind of swept under the rug.
13:54Did your brother live on this street?
13:56He used to live here. Matter of fact, he worked at that plant.
13:59He worked at the plant?
14:00Mm-hmm.
14:01Did he ever think that they had any influence on him getting cancer?
14:04Can't really say.
14:05Okay.
14:06Don't bother me. I've been here since I was seven years old.
14:08Okay. Do you think it's overblown, the fear of what the factories are doing?
14:12I kind of think it is overblown to me.
14:15It don't bother me. I like my spot.
14:17My dad built this, and he died from prostate cancer.
14:22Do you think that may have been influenced by the factory?
14:24No. No.
14:26This is some evil corporate shit right here.
14:28It's a subtle massacre at play, done through the air, the water, and the soil.
14:32After knocking on nearly every door in 30th,
14:35I finally met someone besides Robert who is at least trying to fight back.
14:39Do you know anyone that's gotten cancer by chance?
14:41Well, for sure.
14:42Yeah?
14:43Everybody around here has gotten cancer.
14:45And so that's why I've joined the fight, because it's not us saying it.
14:50Either we're going to believe the government, or we're going to believe these guys.
14:53By the time we find out things, it's too late.
14:57But I'm in a group called Concerned Citizens of St. John's Parish.
15:00Okay. We spent the day with Robert.
15:02Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Bobby Taylor.
15:03Yeah.
15:04We're trying to get to the bottom of this.
15:06We won't be able to wait on the federal government.
15:09It takes so much longer for them to prove something that's very detrimental to our health.
15:14It may be too late by the time they prove it.
15:16Yes. Yes.
15:17Do you think that the factories should pay some sort of reparations for the people it's giving cancer to?
15:21Oh, yes.
15:22Yeah?
15:23That's on the back burner.
15:24Yeah.
15:25The forefront is to get the environment.
15:29Sure.
15:30And you guys, obviously, be safe and healthy.
15:31Yes. Yes.
15:32I mean, not only for us, but the next generation.
15:35Sure.
15:36Generations to come.
15:37Do you think you guys will be successful?
15:38Sure.
15:39Yeah?
15:40Yeah.
15:41I mean, we've seen some results.
15:42I mean, look at the attention that it's brought.
15:44Do you think if the community rallied together, they could halt what they're doing over there?
15:48Or is it unstoppable?
15:49I think we can, but then again, we're facing a big plant.
15:53Sure.
15:54But I think we can.
15:55If we get together and we rally, I think we can do it.
15:56Okay.
15:57It seemed like the worst was behind Cancer Alley and a brighter future was ahead.
16:01Until you learn that companies are working to build even more factories out here.
16:05This little community here of Wallace, I think's got about 850 people.
16:11And they want to put what here?
16:12They want to put a gigantic grain elevator.
16:15Okay, another one.
16:16Another grain elevator.
16:18Ruin these people's lives now, too.
16:20Yeah.
16:21Can you imagine this little community here with that thing sitting right here?
16:26That thing's going to be almost 300 feet tall.
16:29If they were to put this granary right here, what would happen to your home?
16:32How would it impact you?
16:33Well, more than likely, if they did put the plant there, we would probably have to end up moving out of the area.
16:41You know, no one wants to leave their home.
16:43I mean, I've been here like 56 years, and we're trying to take a preventive from happening.
16:49If a plant were to end up in this guy's backyard, his property value would dramatically decrease overnight.
16:54And who would he sell the house to in good conscience, assuming anyone would even want to buy it?
16:58With more factories being built, more jobs are being made.
17:01And these people might need a new place to live.
17:03By new, I mean brand new.
17:06Final phase selling now. They're building more homes? Why?
17:10Most of the people who they're aiming at are from out of town.
17:14So they're too familiar with what's going on here.
17:17Do you think they're at risk of getting cancer higher than someone else?
17:20Well, certainly if they're living in this area.
17:22Is that something that would be disclosed to them upon purchasing the home, you think?
17:25No.
17:26This is evil. Honestly. Disclose this at the very least. Come on.
17:29Kids riding their bikes behind me. Kind of sad, right?
17:32Remember I told you about the 0.2? That was at a 70-year risk of living.
17:38Children today, born today, are reaching that 70-year level by the time they are two years old.
17:46What? That's insanity.
17:48Look at that. For sale. All these brand new homes.
17:51The brand new residential community right in Cancer Alley.
17:54It's kind of evil. They're building. People are moving in here.
17:57If you do know, you probably don't want to acknowledge that you're in Cancer Alley.
18:01What will it take for all these companies to stop putting their factories here?
18:05For the people to be able to stand up. Be able to exercise their rights.
18:09They come here primarily because we are the low-hanging fruit.
18:13Which means we are the most vulnerable group.
18:15Black people are the poorest people here.
18:17We got 400-year history here. We're still at the bottom.
18:21They're aware of everything that this plant is doing and what it can only lead to.
18:26But they're not doing anything about it.
18:28They got the power to tell that plant, no, you can't do that.
18:31That's against human nature. That's against humanity.
18:34Yet it's important to know that DuPont Danka is the only facility in the U.S. that produces chloroprene.
18:39This chloroprene is then synthesized into a rubber known as neoprene.
18:43Neoprene is found in use in rubber gloves, laptop sleeves, electrical insulation, orthopedic braces, etc.
18:50If we didn't buy things made out of neoprene, the plant producing neoprene wouldn't even exist.
18:55While it's easy to point fingers at corporations and call them evil,
18:58while we're the ones wearing a shirt made from a child sweatshop in China,
19:01while watching this video from our lithium-ion battery-powered cell phone made using cobalt mined using child slaves in Africa,
19:08who's really to blame for all this?
19:10While it's poor black people in Louisiana for now, maybe next week it'll be you and your family.
19:16Also, whoever has the most viewed TikTok or YouTube short using a clip from this video, I'll send you $500.
19:22Post however many times you want, but you must tag my TikTok-slash-YouTube at and put YouTube Tyler Oliveira in the title-slash-description.
19:29Last week's winner was this guy. Good luck, guys.