By Ned Randolph and Daniel Trotta LAPLACE, Louisiana (Reuters) -From her home on Louisiana's "Cancer Alley," Lydia Gerard looks down at her 8-month-old great-granddaughter and wonders if she will one day suffer the same fate as her many friends and relatives whose lives were cut short by the disease.

The Environmental Protection Agency told more than 450 employees working in diversity, equity and inclusion -- as well as environmental justice -- they would be fired or reassigned.

The decision to fire or reassign employees is part of Trump officials’ push to close the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.