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 , as well as a need for more accurate and reliable tools to monitor emissions.
The work is in "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 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.
" Ethylene oxide is a man-made gas commonly used to manufacture other chemicals, to fumigate, and to sterilize medical and food production equipment. It's very dangerous to humans, even at low concentrations, with inhalation being the primary route of exposure. Long-term ethylene oxide exposure has been linked to cancer—often for people who live near facilities that manufacture it or work with it.
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 t.
