Residents of America’s Cancer Town confront chemical plant owner in Japan

Residents of Reserve, Louisiana, met with environmental groups and stakeholders in Denka in their campaign for clean air

Residents of Reserve, Louisiana, have travelled to Tokyo to confront the executives and shareholders of a Japanese company which runs a chemical plant they say is responsible for a spike in cancers and a litany of other diseases in their home town - the town at the highest risk of cancer due to airborne toxicity anywhere in the US, according to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

Their trip involved a series of public and private meetings with environmental groups and stakeholders in the chemicals giant Denka, which operates the Pontchartrain Works facility in Reserve. It marks a significant escalation in the residents' campaign for clean air.