As we continue our series on “Sacrifice Zones”, we turn our attention to Cancer Alley, a particularly insidious area in Louisiana that is riddled with petrochemical plants and various chemical facilities. In a major step, the EPA has filed a lawsuit against Denka and DuPont, companies with long-standing histories of polluting in Cancer Alley. On this episode, we begin our discussion of Cancer Alley by talking about this lawsuit by the EPA. Stay tuned!

Learn More about the EPA’s lawsuit against the Denka Plant*:
Lawsuit: EPA vs. Denka and Dupont
Report: "Waiting to Die: Toxic Emissions and Disease around the Denka Plant

*If you are unable to view any of the resources listed above, please reach out to me, and I will send you a PDF copy.

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected]
Blog Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

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**This episode is dedicated to Mary Gladell Rice Martin (1932 - 2023). She was an amazing woman, a pillar in her community, and a lifelong BASF employee in South Carolina. Her life was the motivation for this episode.**

BASF is the world’s largest chemical company. BASF is also one of the world’s greatest purveyors of environmental racism and injustice. Part 4 of our series on “Sacrifice Zones” dives into ProPublica’s investigation into the sacrifice zones created from the work of BASF that goes into just one product: Cascade Dishwasher Detergent. Join us!

Learn More about BASF and its impact*:

Propublica Investigation: The Dirty Secret of America's Clean Dishes
Research: Link between benzene and leukemia
Research: Ethylene Oxide and Cancer

*If you are unable to view any of the resources listed above, please reach out to me, and I will send you a PDF copy.

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected]
Blog Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen!

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Part 3 of our series on sacrifice zones takes a look at ProPublica’s investigative reporting on sacrifice zones. ProPublica’s analysis of five years of modeled EPA data identified more than 1,000 toxic hot spots across the country and found that an estimated 250,000 people living in them may be exposed to levels of excess cancer risk that the EPA deems unacceptable.
This work has provided tremendous, data-driven analysis that gives support and evidence to the environmental injustices that residents of predominantly Black, Latino, and low-income communities throughout the United States have known for years. The apex of this work is an interactive map that allows you to put in their zip code and understand the cancer risks associated with industrial pollution in your area. Let’s dive in!

Read their reporting here:
Article - Poison in the Air
Map of Sacrifice Zones from Propublica
Full investigation of Sacrifice Zones by ProPublica

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected]
Blog Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

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Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

Part 2 of our series on sacrifice zones takes a look at the world stage. There are areas all around the globe where resource extraction, dirty energy production, and horrid waste management practices have led to sacrifice zones all around the world.

Zones where the children are poisoned with lead and other heavy metals.

Zones where the life expectancy for adults is 20-25 years lower than average.

Zones where the toxic environment is literally killing people.

We need to talk about these issues and think about how we can fight against them. Stay tuned!

Learn More about Global Sacrifice Zones*:


UN Special report on Sacrifice Zones around the world
The Guardian - Sacrifice zones all around the world
Article - Myanmar, the "Green Energy" sacrifice zone

*If you are unable to view any of the resources listed above, please reach out to me, and I will send you a PDF copy.

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:

Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected]
Blog Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

Today marks the beginning of a series of episodes about sacrifice zones. Have you heard of them? They are areas all throughout the world that are in close proximity to intense pollution produced by intensive and concentrated industry. These areas are most often inhabited by communities of color, low-income families, and indigenous populations. Not surprising. We need to talk about this. Join us for this new series!

Learn More about Sacrifice Zones*:


Sacrifice Zones - How people of color are targeted
No More Sacrifice Zones - Center for Health, Environment, and Justice
Origin of "Sacrifice Zones" - Strip Mining of Coal
Sacrifice Zones around the world

*If you are unable to view any of the resources listed above, please reach out to me, and I will send you a PDF copy.

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected]
Blog: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

The City of Baltimore is in the midst of a water crisis, decades in the making. From E. Coli contamination leading to a week-long boil water advisory last September to on-going disruptions and frustration from the residents, we need to take a look at this issue and consider the burdens that come when communities of color are forced to live with this type of water insecurity. Let’s talk about it!

Learn More about Baltimore’s Water Issues:
Sept. 2022: Water system shut down due to E. Coli contamination (Washington Post)
Sept. 2022: Statement on Baltimore water system from Legal Defense Fund (NAACP)
Sept. 2022: Federal funding for Maryland water infrastructure (Inside Climate News)
Jan. 2023: Recent water problems in Baltimore, MD (NBC News)
Jan. 2023: Sewer system issues connected to racial injustice (Blue Water Baltimore)
Per capita water consumption - Breakdown (Aquasana)

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected]
Blog Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

Gas stoves have always been touted as the superior way to cook, whether you are grilling outside or making dinner in the home. However, they have come under a lot of scrutiny for their connection to childhood asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Many commentators even suggested that the use of gas stoves presents an environmental justice issue!

Earlier this month, the chair of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission suggested that gas stoves could be banned due to health concerns, which sent the internet into a frenzy. But it got me thinking... Should gas stoves be banned? Are they an environmental justice issue? What should you do if you currently use a gas stove? Let’s talk about it!

Helpful links:
Article: US Agency considers ban on gas stoves
2020 Report on Gas Stoves and Indoor Air Pollution
Research Study (Jan. 2022): Harmful Emissions from Gas Stoves
Research Study (Dec. 2022): Gas Stoves and Childhood Asthma

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected] Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

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Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

In August 2022, major flooding disrupted the operation of the O.B Curtis Water Treatment Plant, which caused residents in Jackson, MS to go without water for over a week. While this disruption garnered national attention, it put a spotlight on the water issues that Jackson, MS has endured for decades. So how did we get here? And what is being done to address these systemic water system issues? We talk about it on this episode of the Environmental Justice Lab.

Helpful links:
Title VI Complaint by NAACP
Complaint and Order issued by the Department of Justice
Schools close due to ongoing water crisis
Announcement of $800 million in funding for Jackson water system


Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected]
Blog Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog


Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2023 and to the (new and improved) Environmental Justice Lab Podcast. It is exciting to think about all that we can do together this upcoming year. On this episode, I want to reintroduce you to the podcast. Many of you have been listening since I started the podcast this past summer. Many of you are listening for the first time. In any case, I am so glad that you’re here. I want to tell you a bit about myself, why I started this podcast, how we are working to improve the podcast, and ultimately what I want this podcast to accomplish. Stay tuned!

Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab
Email: [email protected] Forum: https://lesleysjoseph.wixsite.com/lesleyjoseph/blog

Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

The US Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments regarding The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. The fate of this law has significant implications for environmental justice and protection for Native American tribes and their communities. We need to talk about it.

Learn more about ICWA:

National Indian Children Welfare Association: https://www.nicwa.org/about-icwa/

Native American Rights Fund: https://narf.org/cases/brackeen-v-bernhardt/

SCOTUS Blog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/11/in-challenge-to-indian-child-welfare-act-court-will-weigh-the-rights-of-states-and-the-role-of-race/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.