"As the Louisiana town recovers, residents wrestle with the increasingly difficult task of shielding children from a polluted future."
"ROSELAND, Louisiana — As a young boy in the 1960s, almost every weekend Elbert McGee walked a half-mile with his father through the wooded streets of Roseland to the Tangipahoa River. There, he learned to swim and fish for bass, crappie, and the occasional catfish.
“We had a good, good life as children,” McGee said, unloading fishing gear from his truck. “We grew up healthy and in community.”
Today, McGee still lives in the home where he was raised. But he no longer makes the 10-minute walk to the river to fish. Instead, he drives three hours to Grand Isle, Louisiana.
That change only came after Aug. 22, 2025, when Smitty’s Supply, an oil facility in the majority-Black town, exploded. The disaster released an estimated 12 million gallons of oily liquid and chemical waste into the river, and painted hundreds of homes, churches, schools, and playgrounds with black oily streaks."
Adam Mahoney reports for Capital B August 20, 2026.
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