Energy & Science

Ida’s Aftermath Raises Environmental Fears in ‘Cancer Alley’

  • Two-thirds of Louisiana sites with toxic chemicals are on path
  • Hurricanes Harvey and Laura both sparked plant explosions
Ida Batters Louisiana With Winds Stronger Than Katrina
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Hurricane Ida carved a path across Louisiana that cuts through a region packed with hazardous-chemical plants, raising risks of an environmental disaster along an industrial strip infamously nicknamed “Cancer Alley.”

About two thirds of Louisiana’s industrial sites with toxic chemicals were in Ida’s path, with the storm predicted to charge through 590 sites that produce or store those hazardous materials, according to an analysis of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory by the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.