Science, Space and Technology News 2024
Ethylene oxide concentrations in Louisiana, far exceeding safety standards, were discovered by Johns Hopkins researchers. Their mobile lab detected extreme levels along industrial areas, indicating a higher cancer risk than previously known.
Research led by environmental engineers at Johns Hopkins University indicates a significantly higher cancer risk for residents near facilities that produce and use ethylene oxide. The study underscores the need for more accurate and reliable tools to monitor emissions. The gas is difficult to detect or measure in the air through traditional monitoring methods that attempt to collect samples on site and bring them back to a lab for analysis. Studies have shown that the compound concentrations change over time so traditional measurement techniques are unlikely to reflect how much gas people living near testing sites are exposed to.
The mobile lab consisted of two vans, each equipped with different but highly sensitive technologies to measure ethylene oxide in real time. During winter 2023, the team repeatedly looped along a heavily industrialized route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge Mississippi River, collecting air and testing it as they drove past large industrial facilities and also many residential areas, some quite close to the plants.
When the team compared their measurements with those able to be detected with the EPA’s current screening tools, their own measurements were significantly higher, translating to much greater risks for cancer for the nearby communities.“Our findings have really important implications for community residents, especially infants and children,” said Keeve Nachman, associate professor of Environmental Health and Engineering and the co-director of the Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute.
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