In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers from Johns Hopkins University have discovered alarmingly high concentrations of a known carcinogen in a region of southeast Louisiana.
Utilizing advanced air monitoring equipment, the team found levels of the carcinogen ethylene oxide up to ten times higher than previously estimated, according to ABC News.
This region, situated between Baton Rouge and New Orleans along the Mississippi River, is home to numerous chemical plants and has been ominously dubbed "cancer alley" by environmental activists. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified long-term exposure to inhaled ethylene oxide gas as a cancer risk, a claim contested by the chemical industry. The state of California's environmental health agency also recognizes the chemical as a known carcinogen and reproductive toxin.
Pete DeCarlo, one of the researchers involved in the study, highlighted the importance of the advanced technology used in the research. "The instrumentation technology that we have available to us is just much more sensitive and can be put on vans and driven around in ways that you dont get with regulatory instruments, he said.
Ethylene oxide is a chemical compound used extensively in the production of antifreeze and polyester, as well as in the sterilization of food, cosmetics, and medical equipment. It is also used as a pesticide. The Biden administration has recently taken steps to limit exposure to this gas, with the EPA announcing plans to restrict its use and requiring over 200 plants nationwide to reduce toxic emissions.
The study's methodology involved two vans equipped with instruments that measure gases in real time as they flow through a high-intensity light. These vans traversed the same routes repeatedly over a month, and despite using different instruments, they recorded similar results, thereby reinforcing the researchers' confidence in the findings.
DeCarlo revealed that nearly all the readings were higher than 11 parts of ethylene oxide per 1 trillion parts of air, a level that equates to a one in 10,000 cancer risk for long-term exposure to the gas. This is the upper limit of what the EPA deems acceptable for many air toxics and carcinogens. In some instances, levels were a thousand times higher.
Keeve Nachman, another researcher from Johns Hopkins, pointed out that ethylene oxide is just one of many pollutants emitted in the area. He expressed concern for the residents of "Cancer Alley," suggesting that their exposure risk should probably be lower than 1 in 10,000 due to the multitude of other life stressors they face.
Reed Rustin, a professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study, echoed these concerns. He stated that while short-term exposure to these levels poses little risk to most people, the potential risk for at-risk individuals exposed over a lifetime is a concern that warrants further investigation.
The American Chemical Council, however, has criticized the method used to determine the toxicity of ethylene oxide, labeling it as "deeply flawed."
The findings of this study are likely to fuel ongoing political and legal disputes over the chemical plants scattered among small, often predominantly Black communities between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. DeCarlo emphasized the need for improved pollutant measurements around industrial plants, stating, "We wanted to start to do a better job of assessing what those hazardous air pollutant concentrations look like for communities who live in and around industrial facilities.
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