"For years, the residents of Diamond, Louisiana lived with an inescapable acrid, metallic smell - the "toxic bouquet" of pollution - and a mysterious chemical fog that seeped into their houses. They looked out on the massive Norco Industrial Complex, a maze of pipelines, stacks topped by flares burning off excess gas, and huge oil tankers moving up the Mississippi. They experienced headaches, stinging eyes, allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems, skin disorders, and cancers that they were convinced were caused by their proximity to heavy industry. Periodic industrial explosions damaged their houses and killed some of their neighbors.". "Steve Lerner talked to the people of Diamond and let them tell their story in their own words. He talked also to the residents of a nearby white neighborhood - many of whom worked for Shell and had fewer complaints about the plants - and to environmental activists and Shell officials. His account of Diamond's 30-year ordeal puts a human face on the struggle for environmental justice in the United States."--BOOK JACKET.