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cancer
'People Are Dying': Air in 'Cancer Alley' Louisiana More Toxic Than Previously Thought
Ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas, is nine times more prevalent than the EPA estimated, a study shows. And inside petrochemical plants, workers are likely subjected to much higher concentrations, an author said.
Jun 11, 2024
The presence of a dangerous chemical in the air of southeast Louisiana's "Cancer Alley," which has a substantial Black population, is far greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated and exceeds safe limits, a study published Tuesday found.
The levels of ethylene oxide, exposure to which can cause lung, breast, or other cancers, are nine times higher than the EPA estimated, the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, shows. Ethylene oxide is a gas used in plastic production and in the sterilization of medical equipment. Long-term exposure is exceptionally dangerous: The EPA regards it as unsafe, due to cancer risk, at a level above about 11 parts per trillion (ppt) in the air.
The new study found that the gas' presence averaged about 31 ppt in Cancer Alley, and was far higher in certain locations within the industrial corridor, which runs alongside the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. In each of the census tracts the researchers studied, the level of the gas was higher than the EPA had estimated for that area, in most cases significantly, with a median discrepancy of about 21 ppt.
"We expected to see ethylene oxide in this area," Peter DeCarlo, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University and an author of the study, toldThe Guardian, noting that it was "worrisome," especially for children. "But we didn't expect the levels that we saw, and they certainly were much, much higher than EPA's estimated levels."
Concentrations of ethylene oxide could be much higher "inside the fenceline" of petrochemical plants—areas which couldn't be studied—where workers are "getting much, much higher concentrations over the course of their day," DeCarlo toldGrist.
A groundbreaking study by @JohnsHopkins in @EnvSciTech has uncovered alarming levels of ethylene oxide emissions from petrochemical facilities in Cancer Alley, Louisiana. #BeyondPetrochemicals #PeopleOverPollution pic.twitter.com/s9vygj8RlV
— Beyond Petrochemicals (@BeyondPetrochem) June 11, 2024
People in Cancer Alley are nearly twice as likely to get cancer as other Americans, and ethylene oxide accounts for most of the known carcinogenic risk there, roughly 68%, if EPA estimates are correct. "The fact that so much of the environmental risk in this area seems to come from a single chemical is remarkable," the study authors wrote.
DeCarlo said this is why the authors deemed it important to study the amount of ethylene oxide in the air there. However, he cautioned that ethylene oxide is far from the only problem.
"The reality is people aren't just breathing ethylene oxide, they are breathing a whole soup of chemicals," he told The Guardian. "When you start to add everything up it becomes a much more problematic picture."
The risk to human health is likely not limited to facilities that are emitting ethylene oxide, as the researchers found plumes of gas that were miles long. East Ascension High School in Gonzales, Louisiana, is about five miles from an ethylene oxide hotspot, the study notes.
In 2021, United Nations experts called for an end to environmental racism in Cancer Alley, and the organization's special rapporteur on the issue of human rights called the area a "sacrifice zone" the following year. In January, Human Rights Watch released a report on systemic injustice there.
Sharon Lavigne, the founder of Rise St. James, a community organization in St. James Parish, said the findings were a "step in the right direction" but must lead to accountability and change.
"These monitors are good, but in the meantime, people are dying," she toldGrist.
Earlier this year, the EPA announced new ethylene oxide rules that could cut Louisiana emissions of the gas by nearly 80%—"the first time that federal regulations for chemical plants have been updated in decades," Gristreported in April. Cancer Alley had been among the places that EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited on his 2021 "Journey to Justice" tour. Yet the new study may lead to calls for further action.
"The EPA's new rule was necessary but should only be the start of how we begin to make things right here," Heather McTeer Toney, who leads a Bloomberg Philanthropies campaign to end petrochemical plant expansion, told Grist. "I'm hopeful to see levels go down, but the data suggest we have a long way to go."
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WHO Chief Demands Swift Medical Evacuations for 9,000 Injured, Sick Patients in Gaza
Israel is currently attempting to send several patients back to the besieged enclave from East Jerusalem, where they have been receiving cancer treatment.
Mar 30, 2024
The head of the World Health Organization on Saturday demanded that Israel speed up approvals for medical evacuations from Gaza as the number of people who urgently need life-saving healthcare reached roughly 9,000—and as Israeli officials threatened to send several Palestinian patients back to the besieged enclave from the East Jerusalem hospital where they've received cancer treatment.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, warned that with only 10 of Gaza's 36 hospitals "minimally functional" following repeated attacks on the enclave's healthcare system, "thousands of patients continue to be deprived of healthcare."
At the beginning of March, WHO assessed that about 8,000 patients needed to be immediately evacuated from Gaza to receive treatment for cancer, kidney failure, and other chronic diseases as well as injuries from Israel's relentless bombing of civilian infrastructure.
That number has grown by about 1,000 in recent weeks, Tedros said.
More than 3,400 sick and injured people have been taken abroad via the southern border town of Rafah since Israel began its bombardment on October in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack.
"But many more need to be evacuated," said Tedros. "We urge Israel to speed up approvals for evacuations, so that critical patients can be treated. Every moment matters."
As Tedros called on Israel to swiftly approve medical evacuations, human rights advocates condemned Israeli authorities who aim to deport patients with cancer back to Gaza from an East Jerusalem hospital where they've been receiving advanced treatment since before the October 7 attack on southern Israel.
"Returning residents to Gaza during a military conflict and a humanitarian crisis is against international law and poses a deliberate risk to innocent lives," Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said in a statement. "All the more so when it concerns patients who may face a death sentence due to unsanitary conditions and hunger, along with the unlikely availability of medical care."
At least 22 patients from Gaza, including several children, have been receiving treatment at Augusta Victoria Hospital, having received authorization from Israel prior to the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) current escalation.
"I arrived here in Jerusalem with my son Hamza on September 27 last year," Qamar Abu Zoar toldThe Guardian on Saturday. "Hamza, who is four and a half years old, has a brain tumor and needs treatment that he couldn't receive in Gaza. While we were here, the war broke out. And since then, we have been stranded in this hospital, while my other two younger children are in the north of Gaza with my husband."
The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, has urged hospital officials to provide a list of patients who could be sent back to Gaza, where patients in the remaining hospitals are suffering from infections due to the use of improvised and unsterilized medical equipment, as well as from worsening malnutrition.
Israel's near-total blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza has affected food and medicines, and CNN reported earlier this month that anesthetics, anesthesia machines, oxygen tanks, and ventilators are frequently rejected by Israeli inspectors who examine aid trucks.
Last week, the Israeli High Court of Justice halted an effort by COGAT to send 10 patients from Augusta Victoria Hospital back to Gaza, where in many cases their homes and hometowns have been decimated by Israeli bombing and shelling.
COGAT claimed the patients had finished their treatment and said it would work with aid agencies if they had a need for more medical care, coordinating "their stay with the hospitals to safeguard their health."
But as Tedros warned Saturday, the vast majority of hospitals in Gaza are no longer operating.
Israel's High Court has until April 21 to issue a final ruling on whether officials can deport patients to Gaza.
"The hospitals and the medical staff must strongly oppose the release of the patients from their custody," said PHR, "unless a guarantee is given that they will not be returned to Gaza where their lives are in danger."
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Mexico Brings Science to a Trade Fight Over GMO Corn
While Mexico incorporates peer-reviewed science to challenge industrial agriculture interests, American stances ignore it.
Mar 19, 2024
Frustration with Mexico grows, not over the border or drugs, but over science. The United States demands that Mexico explain why GMO corn is unsafe. Last year, out of concern for human health, Mexico outlawed GMO corn for human consumption. This type of corn is engineered with lab techniques that modify the genetic content of seeds. Issued as a Decree, these restrictions apply to corn in tortillas or masa (dough).
Immediately, American officials complained that thisblocks imports. No surprise, most American corn is GMO. They said Mexico lacks a scientific basis for the restrictions, required by the USMCA, NAFTA’s successor. A dispute panel was established. This insistence on science grew, becoming standard talking points for trade and agriculture officers, members of Congress, and lobbyists.
Mexico definitely offers scientific proof and lots of it in its reply, which was recently made public. It includes over one hundred and fifty scientific studies, referred to in peer-review journals, systemic research reviews, and more. Mexico incorporates perspectives from toxicology, pediatrics, plant biology, hematology, epidemiology, public health, and data mining, to name a few.
This clearly and loudly responds to American persistence. The practical result: American leaders cannot claim there is no science supporting the Decree. They may disagree with or dislike the findings, but there is proof.
Based on this, Mexico points to safety risks when humans consume GMO corn and consume corn exposed to herbicides like glyphosate. A World Health Organization (WHO) agency concluded that glyphosate is a likely cause of cancer. Five years ago American courts agreed and continue to do so.
Science-based research supports the Decree in two ways, with justifications for safety measures and with trade obligations. First, corn plays an enormous role in Mexican diets. Because of this, any potential risk from corn creates significant public health concerns for Mexico. Corn provides half of the daily protein intake for Mexican adults. In Mexico corn products are consumed at rates ten times higher than in the United States, according to data from the FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization). Put simply, any toxicity from eating corn poses substantial dangers for Mexico.
Luckily the USMCA permits food safety policies tailored to specific risks. This points to a second kind of support for the Decree. Specifically, Mexico has the “right to adopt” measures needed to protect human health. To narrowly craft the measure, Mexico identifies risks to human health from contaminants or toxins in GMO corn in human food. This is why the Decree only applies to tortillas and masa and not animal feed, what American farmers mostly export.
The trade pact supports this fine-tuning. Called “the appropriate level of protection,” it’s set by governments when developing food safety measures. The USMCA “does not prevent” Mexico from establishing a level of protection “it determines to be appropriate.” The upshot: if Mexico identifies risks to human health from GMO corn, it can determine the suitable level of protection.
With substantial scientific backing, Mexico isolates risks and sets protection. The Decree responds to two dangers from: GMO corn and corn exposed to glyphosate.
One danger exists in the unintended molecular effects that come from consuming GMO corn. Mexico points to field and lab studies on GMO corn finding negative consequences. They detect heavier kidneys, changes in gastrointestinal functions, and more. These adverse effects are at molecular levels, caused by the introduction of genes into corn cells. To avoid these, Mexico prohibitscorn engineered with these modifications in human food.
The science-based support for this is comprehensive. In its section “impacts of GM corn on human health,” Mexico refers to over fifty individual studies, with examples from the WHO and leading journals like Nature and PLoS One.
A second danger is glyphosate, an herbicide found to be a likely cause of cancer. It kills weeds that grow near crops. Mexico describes the inseparable link between glyphosate and GMO corn, referring to over twelve scientific studies and to databases from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the international biotechnology organization (ISAAA), and Mexico’s science council (CONAHCYT).
Corn is genetically engineered so it can tolerate greater amounts of herbicide. This is the “main function” of genetic modification. When GMO techniques succeed, plants withstand more herbicide. As genetic modifications advance, larger amounts of toxins are sprayed on plants without killing them.
Mexico looks to important research on this toxicity, including recent studies conducted in Mexico. Anxieties go beyond plants. Herbicide traces have been detected in breast milk and blood. Investigations found glyphosate in the urine of Mexican children, consistent with the latest research into similar experiences worldwide.
Mexico pinpoints important risks from glyphosate. This includes liver cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, research finds glyphosate can lead to infants developing “neuronal damage, diabetes, obesity and impaired lung function.” In sum, science-based reasoning isolates risks in eating GMO corn and in eating corn exposed to glyphosate.
While Mexico incorporates science American stances ignore it. They do not mention glyphosate. They argue that GMO corn is safe, citing studies from decades ago. This is “striking.” In 2021, Mexico announced its restrictions. Since then officials from both countries have met repeatedly to discuss these matters.
What does this all mean? Most immediately, American officials should take Mexican positions seriously. Scientific experts worldwide do. The panel will. With elections this year in both countries, tensions won’t easily fade.
Ideally, trade officers see the compromise implicit in the Decree: American farmers still export GMO corn for animal feed to Mexico. If this dispute continues, they risk losing that and more. Trade disputes carve losing paths when governments refuse to see the evidence. Hopefully, objective heads in Washington take an honest look at Mexico’s reply and prioritize resolution over conflict.
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