Off
the Charts

Using a suite of cutting-edge measurement tools in a mobile laboratory, engineers and public health scientists from Johns Hopkins University investigated the air quality in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, which runs between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, in February 2023. They measured 45 pollutants and assessed lifetime health risks for nearby residents.

New Measures of Ethylene Oxide

This study produced the first measures of how much of the cancer-causing petrochemical, ethylene oxide, is emitted by facilities in part of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley—showing levels more than nine times higher than pollution modeling used by the Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The peer-reviewed study was published in the journal, Environmental Science & Technology and performed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University with funding from Beyond Petrochemicals.

EPA Risk Screening Environmental Indicators tool estimates that 68 percent of the total hazard from air pollutant emissions in the industry-heavy corridor is attributable to ethylene oxide. Despite growing concern over pollution and public health in Cancer Alley, the study found that measurements of ambient ethylene oxide have been underestimated across thirteen census tracts in the region. EPA currently estimates health risks by relying on emissions data from local and state environmental agencies, which in turn often rely on industry self-reported estimates and not direct measurements.

Communities neighboring petrochemical facilities are at an unjust and disproportionate risk for cancer and other health issues from ethylene oxide, which is used as a petrochemical feedstock to create commercial chemicals. Ethylene oxide is extremely carcinogenic, and chronic exposure is associated with a variety of cancers, including leukemia, myeloma, lymphoma, and breast cancer.

Watch the full story of this groundbreaking research below.