Health Advocates Taking Environmental Concerns to D.C., Associated Press

High levels of toxic chemicals in the blood of Calcasieu Parish residents are tied directly to nearby factories that make vinyl, plastics and petroleum products. That’s according to an environmental advocacy group. The New Orleans-based Advocates for Environmental Human Rights released a report yesterday (Tuesday) by chemist Wilma Subra about federal data on dioxins in

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Report: SW La. dioxin levels linked to nearby manufacturers

WESTLAKE, La. — High levels of toxic chemicals in the blood of Calcasieu Parish residents are tied directly to nearby factories that make vinyl, plastics and petroleum products, an environmental advocacy group said again Tuesday. The New Orleans-based Advocates for Environmental Human Rights released a report by chemist Wilma Subra about federal data on dioxins

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Health threats action urged *** Community says industry to blame, Richard Burgess; Acadiana Bureau

link to original article CALCASIEU PARISH – Residents in a Calcasieu Parish community who say they suffer from pollution-related health problems are asking the federal government to relocate their families, provide medical treatment and place a moratorium on industrial facilities in the area. Mossville residents made the demands in a report issued Tuesday that alleges

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Flood projects biased, critics say, White neighborhoods favored, corps told, The Times-Picayune

link to original article by Mark Schleifstein Representatives of environmental groups joined eastern New Orleans residents Tuesday in charging that the early focus of the Army Corps of Engineers on improving flood protection in the mostly white neighborhoods of Lakeview and Old Metairie has discriminated against minority communities. At a corps meeting at St. Maria

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U.N. sees issues on Coast, Mississippi Sun Herald

link to original article by Megha Satyanarayana GULFPORT — After touring hurricane-stricken areas in Mississippi on Wednesday, a top United Nations official met with Coast residents to talk about how his international organization can aid local recovery. Human rights are not just in the realm of war and refugees, said Walter Kalin, the U.N. representative,

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Katrina response still not meeting U.N. human rights standards, LA Weekly

Hurricane Katrina was not only a domestic tragedy. The U.S. government’s insufficient efforts to prevent families from being uprooted, its inadequate emergency response, and the still-lagging recovery are at odds with internationally recognized human rights principles that the Bush administration has promoted in other countries. That’s the finding of “Hurricane Katrina and the Guiding Principles

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UN Treaty Committee Urges US Government to Protect Human Rights on Race and Housing in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans groups representing a broad range of housing and urban planning professionals, housing advocates, faith-based organizations, and human rights groups introduce the decision by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that calls on the US government “to increase its efforts in order to facilitate the return of persons displaced by

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