Jun 12, 2024 05:11 PM
https://hub.jhu.edu/2024/06/11/ethylene-...louisiana/
INTRO: The toxic gas ethylene oxide, at levels a thousand times higher than what is considered safe, was detected across parts of Louisiana with a cutting-edge mobile air-testing lab. The concentrations found dwarfed Environmental Protection Agency estimates for the region.
The findings, led by Johns Hopkins University environmental engineers, suggest significantly higher cancer risks for people who live near facilities that manufacture and use ethylene oxide, as well as a need for more accurate and reliable tools to monitor emissions.
"I don't think there's any census track in the area that wasn't at higher risk for cancer than we would deem acceptable," said senior author Peter DeCarlo, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering who studies air quality. "We expected to see ethylene oxide in this area. But we didn't expect the levels that we saw, and they certainly were much, much higher than EPA's estimated levels."
The work is newly published in Environmental Science & Technology... (MORE - details, minimal ads)
RELATED (AP News): Researchers find higher levels of dangerous chemical than expected in southeast Louisiana
INTRO: The toxic gas ethylene oxide, at levels a thousand times higher than what is considered safe, was detected across parts of Louisiana with a cutting-edge mobile air-testing lab. The concentrations found dwarfed Environmental Protection Agency estimates for the region.
The findings, led by Johns Hopkins University environmental engineers, suggest significantly higher cancer risks for people who live near facilities that manufacture and use ethylene oxide, as well as a need for more accurate and reliable tools to monitor emissions.
"I don't think there's any census track in the area that wasn't at higher risk for cancer than we would deem acceptable," said senior author Peter DeCarlo, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering who studies air quality. "We expected to see ethylene oxide in this area. But we didn't expect the levels that we saw, and they certainly were much, much higher than EPA's estimated levels."
The work is newly published in Environmental Science & Technology... (MORE - details, minimal ads)
RELATED (AP News): Researchers find higher levels of dangerous chemical than expected in southeast Louisiana