Cancer Corridors: Lessons Learned in Environmental Justice Communities

From Appalachia to the Gulf South, people living in communities bordering industrial activity have long been burdened with the health impacts of pollution from these industries. They have also suffered the consequences of a government that has failed to take protective action, claiming lack of scientific research or evidence of an official cancer cluster. Despite these claims, peer-reviewed research continues to show health impacts, and these regions have become known for their increased rates of cancer and other health problems. In this panel discussion, we will hear how research can aid environmental justice issues and the importance of scientific literacy for decision makers and activists. We will also hear from community organizers who have worked hard to bring awareness to the health issues facing their communities and demand government action.

Speakers

Kimberly Terrell and Gianna St. Julien - Tulane Environmental Law Clinic

Roishetta Ozane - Vessel Project of Louisiana

Jodi Borello - CCJ and MAD-FACTS

Moderator

Laura Dagley, BSN, RN - PSR PA Medical and Environmental Health Writer

Kimberly Terrell, PhD

Dr. Kimberly Terrell is a Research Scientist and the Director of Community Engagement at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (New Orleans, Louisiana). She has broad expertise related to environmental issues, including in public health, statistics, and air monitoring. Her current work focuses on the intersection of science and environmental regulation, particularly with respect to underserved communities. In her role at the Clinic, she provides technical assistance to students, attorneys, community members and others working on environmental issues. Much of her work focuses on addressing knowledge gaps in environmental health. For example, she recently published the first peer-reviewed study to identify toxic air pollution as a contributing factor to Louisiana’s disproportionately high cancer burden. Dr. Terrell also works to promote science literacy among environmental decision-makers in Louisiana, particularly with respect to the precautionary principle and the challenges of identifying adverse health outcomes in small populations. She has provided expert testimony on environmental issues to the U.S. Congress Subcommittee on the Environment and to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

Dr. Terrell is a recipient of the Tulane Environmental Stewardship Award, an alumna of the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program, and a lifetime member of the Society for Conservation Biology. She serves on the Science Advisory Board for the Center for Applied Environmental Science and is adjunct faculty in the Department of Biology at the University of Memphis and the School of Renewable Natural Resources at Louisiana State University. She recently joined the Tulane Cancer Center's Population Sciences and Prevention Program as a Contributing Member.

Gianna St. Julien

Gianna St. Julien joined the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic in 2020 after receiving a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Soil and Water Quality and Geology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. While at ULL she held a position in Geosciences studying the ecology and hydrology of ephemeral streams throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. As a native New Orleanian, her work with the Environmental Law Clinic is centered around community engagement in Louisiana by providing environmental health resources and information to community members and assist local environmental justice organizations in tracking the permitting of new and existing industrial projects throughout the state.  In addition to community engagement, she also creates GIS visualizations and analyses of environmental health, industrial pollution, demographic, socioeconomic, and infrastructure data in an effort to contribute to Louisiana’s available environmental research.

Roishetta Ozane

Roishetta Sibley Ozane is the founder of The Vessel Project of Louisiana, a small mutual aid and environmental justice organization. She is the Gulf Fossil Finance Coordinator with the Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund. Roishetta is an award winning, internationally known environmental justice advocate and has spoken on stages Nationally and abroad including in Egypt, Canada, and Malaysia championing for Black, indigenous, people of color communities and their right for clean air, clean water and sustainable communities that aren’t overburdened by fossil fuel buildout. Roishetta is a member of several organizations including National Association of University Women, McNeese State University Black Alumni, and a She Leads Fellow Alum for the Power Coalition of Equity and Justice. Additionally Roishetta is a single mom of 6 and her children are who she’s trying to make the world a better place for. Roishetta truly believes that no one is good until we are all good and she proves that daily through her giving heart and philanthropy.