Louisiana’s Cancer Alley—that 85-mile stretch between New Orleans and Baton Rouge—is infamous for its air pollution. If you drive along Highway 61, for example, at any given time, there are points along the way where you can even see the pollution in the form of plumes or flares or you can smell it in the form of rancid, noxious gases that can permeate your car windows. With more than 200 petrochemical facilities, it’s not hard to figure out who the culprit is. But information about just how much pollution the 1.6 million people who live here are breathing every day? That’s much harder to come by.

The official records for petrochemical pollution are kept by the Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies such as Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality. That data, in turn, relies on self-reported data from the petrochemical industry itself. Given the petrochemical industry’s struggles with honesty, their commitment to self-preservation at any cost, and the incentives to dodge scrutiny with lower estimates, the surrounding communities understandably regard industry numbers with a certain amount of suspicion.

In February 2023, researchers from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, with support from Beyond Petrochemicals, set out to independently examine levels of toxic pollution in petrochemical corridors in Louisiana, including levels of ethylene oxide, one of the most cancerous petrochemicals. In June 2024, they published their bombshell peer-reviewed report revealing levels of ethylene oxide a whopping nine times higher than had previously been reported. On average, the ethylene oxide levels in the heart of Cancer Alley were more than double the point above which the EPA considers the cancer-risk unacceptable.

The researchers created a mobile laboratory using cutting-edge technology to take measurements on the ground in real-time. They then took that mobile laboratory along a planned route near facilities known to emit ethylene oxide. They found levels that were far above the EPA’s set acceptable level of 11 parts per trillion. On average, they found levels at 31 parts per trillion and, in some extreme cases, they saw levels at 109 parts per trillion.

There are two main reasons the researchers honed in on ethylene oxide for this study: prevalence and health impacts. While petrochemical facilities produce a variety of toxic and noxious chemicals, ethylene oxide is far and away one of the most dangerous. In Cancer Alley, it is also one of the most prevalent pollutants. In fact, nearly 68 percent of the hazard from industrial pollution in the region is thought to be from ethylene oxide.

Then, there’s the health risks. Cancer Alley didn’t get its name by accident: residents there have an estimated 95 percent higher chance of getting cancer than the average American. With its extremely carcinogenic properties, ethylene oxide is likely a huge contributor to this phenomenon. The compound is linked to leukemia, myeloma, breast cancer, and other cancers. It can also cause lymphoid cancer and tumors in the brain, lungs, and uterus. Beyond the chronic impacts, there are also acute, short-term impacts such as headaches, respiratory diseases, nausea, and neurological disorders.

Ethylene oxide is emitted by facilities that produce petrochemicals and those that sterilize medical equipment. It is usually produced during the catalytic direct oxidation of ethylene. The most common route of exposure for humans is through inhalation.

There is no safe level of exposure to ethylene oxide. So, the workers and residents in Louisiana’s petrochemical corridors—and similar communities all over the country and the world—are putting their lives on the line every time they breathe air that is laced with this extremely toxic chemical. That’s a high price to pay for anything, much less for more plastic that no one needs. From the plastics clogging our ocean to the plastics clogging our own bloodstreams, the world can barely handle the plastic we already have. There’s no reason to create more, and every reason to put an end to the petrochemical era.

Louisiana’s Cancer Alley—that 85-mile stretch between New Orleans and Baton Rouge—is infamous for its air pollution. If you drive along Highway 61, for example, at any given time, there are points along the way where you can even see the pollution in the form of plumes or flares or you can smell it in the form of rancid, noxious gases that can permeate your car windows. With more than 200 petrochemical facilities, it’s not hard to figure out who the culprit is. But information about just how much pollution the 1.6 million people who live here are breathing every day? That’s much harder to come by.

The official records for petrochemical pollution are kept by the Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies such as Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality. That data, in turn, relies on self-reported data from the petrochemical industry itself. Given the petrochemical industry’s struggles with honesty, their commitment to self-preservation at any cost, and the incentives to dodge scrutiny with lower estimates, the surrounding communities understandably regard industry numbers with a certain amount of suspicion.

In February 2023, researchers from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, with support from Beyond Petrochemicals, set out to independently examine levels of toxic pollution in petrochemical corridors in Louisiana, including levels of ethylene oxide, one of the most cancerous petrochemicals. In June 2024, they published their bombshell peer-reviewed report revealing levels of ethylene oxide a whopping nine times higher than had previously been reported. On average, the ethylene oxide levels in the heart of Cancer Alley were more than double the point above which the EPA considers the cancer-risk unacceptable.

The researchers created a mobile laboratory using cutting-edge technology to take measurements on the ground in real-time. They then took that mobile laboratory along a planned route near facilities known to emit ethylene oxide. They found levels that were far above the EPA’s set acceptable level of 11 parts per trillion. On average, they found levels at 31 parts per trillion and, in some extreme cases, they saw levels at 109 parts per trillion.

There are two main reasons the researchers honed in on ethylene oxide for this study: prevalence and health impacts. While petrochemical facilities produce a variety of toxic and noxious chemicals, ethylene oxide is far and away one of the most dangerous. In Cancer Alley, it is also one of the most prevalent pollutants. In fact, nearly 68 percent of the hazard from industrial pollution in the region is thought to be from ethylene oxide.

Then, there’s the health risks. Cancer Alley didn’t get its name by accident: residents there have an estimated 95 percent higher chance of getting cancer than the average American. With its extremely carcinogenic properties, ethylene oxide is likely a huge contributor to this phenomenon. The compound is linked to leukemia, myeloma, breast cancer, and other cancers. It can also cause lymphoid cancer and tumors in the brain, lungs, and uterus. Beyond the chronic impacts, there are also acute, short-term impacts such as headaches, respiratory diseases, nausea, and neurological disorders.

Ethylene oxide is emitted by facilities that produce petrochemicals and those that sterilize medical equipment. It is usually produced during the catalytic direct oxidation of ethylene. The most common route of exposure for humans is through inhalation.

There is no safe level of exposure to ethylene oxide. So, the workers and residents in Louisiana’s petrochemical corridors—and similar communities all over the country and the world—are putting their lives on the line every time they breathe air that is laced with this extremely toxic chemical. That’s a high price to pay for anything, much less for more plastic that no one needs. From the plastics clogging our ocean to the plastics clogging our own bloodstreams, the world can barely handle the plastic we already have. There’s no reason to create more, and every reason to put an end to the petrochemical era.