924 - The Shocking Hazards of Louisiana's “Cancer Alley”

Public Health On Call

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Novelcoronavirus, Health, Publichealth, Covid, Globalhealth, Coronavirus, News, Health & Fitness, Education, Medicine, Covid19, Science

4.8 • 620 Ratings

🗓️ 28 July 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

About this episode:

Since the 1980s, petrochemical production along an 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River has designated the corridor as “Cancer Alley,” but recent research shows that the risks from air pollution in the region have been seriously underestimated. In this episode: Pete DeCarlo and Keeve Nachman of the Johns Hopkins University discuss their concerning findings about compounding chemical exposure on human health and explain what these conclusions mean for how the United States should regulate carcinogens.

Guest:

Pete DeCarlo, PhD, is an associate professor in Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering.

Keeve Nachman, PhD, MHS, is the Robert S. Lawrence Professor in Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Host:

Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.

Show links and related content:

Air testing reveals cancer-causing gas levels far exceeding some government estimates—ABC News 4
Ethylene Oxide in Southeastern Louisiana’s Petrochemical Corridor: High Spatial Resolution Mobile Monitoring during HAP-MAP—Environmental Science and Technology
Surprisingly High Levels of Toxic Gas Found in Lousiana—The Hub

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0:00.0	Welcome to Public Health On Call, a podcast from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
0:05.9	where we bring evidence, experience, and perspective to make sense of today's leading health challenges.
0:16.3	If you have questions or ideas for us, please send an email to Public Health Question at jh.edu.
0:23.8	That's Public Health Question at jh.edu for future podcast episodes.
0:30.6	Hey listeners, it's Lindsay Smith-Rogers, producer of Public Health On Call.
0:34.9	Today, air pollution and what we know about the cumulative effects
0:39.3	of industrial emissions on people who live near petrochemical plants. Stephanie Desmond talks to
0:45.1	Johns Hopkins scientists Dr. Keev Nachman and Dr. Pete DeCarlo about their work measuring levels of
0:51.4	pollutants in Louisiana and why government testing facilities are
0:55.1	underestimating the risks to human health. Let's listen. Kiv Nachman and Pete De Carlo, thanks so
1:01.4	much for joining me. Thanks for having us. So I wanted to talk today a little bit about the
1:06.8	work you guys do together and sort of how did the two of you come together to do the kind of
1:12.1	research you're doing and tell us about that research? This project started when folks at the
1:17.0	Bloomberg Philanthropies started to ask us where we were missing information for communities who
1:22.3	live around industrial facilities. And Tom Burke brought me into that conversation. And we had a really good few months where we were
1:29.8	calling every couple weeks and giving them thoughts and ideas on how to improve our understanding of
1:34.8	what people were being exposed to and what that meant for health. And then they said,
1:37.9	what would you do with some money for a pilot project? And we said, we would do what we were just
1:43.0	talking about. And so we were able to get some funding to start this project out together. And Key was the ideal person to take some of the measurement work that I do and put numbers to it in terms of health and understanding what health means. And so that started this project. And we've been going strong and really enjoying the work that we're doing.
2:02.5	So what is this project, Keeve?
2:04.9	We are trying to understand what it means to live in the shadows of large industrial or petrochemical facilities.
2:13.1	And to do that, we need to measure what's in the air, what pollution is in the air, and try
	...

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