A new study from Johns Hopkins University found people living near petrochemical plants in Louisiana face higher cancer risks, up to 11 times higher than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.
“ It’s evidence of everything that we’ve been saying,” said Tish Taylor with Concerned Citizens of St. John, a group of residents fighting against air pollution in St. John the Baptist Parish. “It’s evidence that we're dying and we're sick.”
Scientists used new technology and a mobile laboratory to measure 17 carcinogenic air pollutants across parishes between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in 2023. They found that in 14 out of the 15 census tracts measured in the area known as “Cancer Alley”, cancer risks were higher than those estimated by the EPA’s Air Toxics Screening Assessment model.
Peter DeCarlo, professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins and one of the study’s authors, said that’s because the EPA’s data relies on companies to self-report emissions.
“The reality is, to get the concentrations that we're seeing, they're probably underestimating their emissions by a factor of five to 10,” he said.
Most of what we know about cancer risk in these areas comes from estimates, said Kimberly Terrell, a scientist with the Environmental Integrity Project who studies air quality.
”The monitoring reveals that what we think we know about air pollution in Cancer Alley, the real picture is much worse,” she said. “The obvious next step is for people to get out there and be measuring what's in the air on a regular basis.”
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has some monitoring stations in the area, but they do not monitor for three of the most dangerous chemicals, according to the study: ethylene oxide, chloroprene and formaldehyde. The study found that these pollutants contributed to 96% of the cancer risk.
Terrell said LDEQ’s monitoring stations are also not located close enough to industry or the communities at risk.
“ The state has not done any monitoring for the biggest drivers of pollution-related cancer risk in Louisiana,” she said. “Not only is this study the only information we have, but it's gold standard information. It's really something that regulators should be paying attention to.”
LDEQ did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration granted companies exemptions to an EPA rule that required companies to reduce emissions of ethylene oxide and chloroprene, as well as monitor for those chemicals. Twelve companies in Louisiana were granted exemptions from the Biden-era rule, including Denka Performance Elastomers and DuPont Specialty Products, which both have plants in St. John the Baptist Parish. Though Denka announced that it was halting production earlier this year.
In an emailed statement, EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch said the department under Trump is committed to protecting human health and the environment alongside its “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative.
“This includes ensuring ALL Americans have access to clean air, water, and land regardless of regardless of race, gender, creed, or background,” Hirsch said in the email.
Earlier this year, community groups sued against a new law that prevents the data from being used to allege violations of pollution regulations if it isn’t collected by EPA-approved equipment. It also restricts analysis of that data to state-accredited labs. That likely means this study can’t be used to enforce air pollution standards.
But Taylor said the research will help her community fight against air pollution.
“It’s important to us to always have the truth,” she said. “Now what we do with it, we have to figure out a creative way to make sure that we’re still advocating for clean air to keep us healthy.”
