Research at a glance
Problem
Louisiana communities living near petrochemical plants have long reported health problems believed to be linked to industrial pollution
Findings
End goal
Researchers want to provide evidence that can inform public health research and policy while creating a model other communities can use to study environmental health risks
For more than two decades, Virginia Tech professor and Louisiana native Barbara Allen has warned of the health risks associated with living near Louisiana’s Cancer Alley
The 85-mile stretch of land along the Mississippi River is home to numerous petrochemical plants and oil refineries that produce plastics, fuels, and other industrial products. Allen said residents there and in other industrialized areas of Louisiana have long reported patterns of illness they believe are linked to industrial pollution. A recent analysis of government data now supports those claims
Allen, professor in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society, co-led a study with researchers from Dillard University and the University of California examining 2017–19 Louisiana Medicaid claims among nonsmokers. Their project, known as the Collaborative Data Analysis Environmental Health Study, found elevated health risks among children and adults living in areas with higher levels of industrial pollution, including communities in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, the River Parishes, Alexandria, Lake Charles, and Shreveport.
“This data is irrefutable,” Allen said, noting that Medicaid data accounts for about 40 percent of the state’s population. “The sample size was gigantic.”
By analyzing anonymized health records, the team found that children living within five miles of a petrochemical plant or petroleum refinery were more likely to develop learning disabilities, nutritional anemia, and skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis. The study also found that young girls are at greater risk of experiencing early puberty.
Among adults living in those areas, the researchers found greater rates of nutritional and other forms of anemia. Women also experienced a greater risk of breast cancer and uterine fibroids, while pregnant women experienced higher rates of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and preeclampsia. Allen said she hopes the study will become a catalyst for improving women’s health and reducing maternal mortality in Louisiana
“We need to look at the fact that our major outcomes were about children and pregnant women,” Allen said. “What society with poor health amongst children and pregnant women is going to lead to a good future?”
Allen said the team focused on data from 2017 -19 to avoid disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers drew environmental exposure data from federal and statee Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
She said the team’s reliance on government data was key because Louisiana passed a 2024 law requiring community air monitoring data to meet specific state and Environmental Protection Agency standards before it can be used to allege environmental law violations
“It’s why we used Medicaid data,” she said. “We’re using the government’s own data, so they can’t say we went out and self-collected water and air samples or went door to door asking people their health status.”
The team received a $600,000 National Science Foundation grant for the project in 2023. This past April, its members presented their findings to Louisiana residents at Dillard University, the historically Black university in New Orleans that served as the project’s home base
Throughout the research process, the team hosted 22 community focus groups across multiple regions of Louisiana, giving residents the opportunity to review and interpret government data while sharing personal health experiences that helped provide context to the findings
“It was a participatory science project because the more people can participate in something and the more relevant the data is to their lives, the more they trust it,” Allen said. “They brought up things that I had never, even in my wildest dreams, thought of in relationship to pollution.”
Community members also shared their frustrations, according to the study. While recounting the experience of living in St. John Parish, a participant asked, “What can we do to get these people to say, ‘This is not make-believe?’ … These are the funerals that we’re going to, these are the cancer cases that we’re having. It’s not make-believe. This is factual data.”
Participants also shared recommendations with the team, including improving the transparency and frequency of chemical reporting requirements for petrochemical facilities and strengthening state and federal policies governing industrial emissions. They also recommended that elected officials and regulatory agencies push for greater industry accountability and that health agencies and school districts increase awareness of common health conditions
The researchers suggested that access to additional years of Medicaid data could help reveal the health impacts of industrial facility openings, closures, and expansions over time, providing insights that could inform regulatory decisions. They also noted that a similar analysis using Medicare data could help researchers better understand the effects of industrial pollution exposure among older adults, since individuals over 65 are not included in Medicaid data
Allen said she hopes the study will pave the way for similar studies in other localities where health hazards are known. As part of their National Science Foundation grant requirement, the team plans to create a “how-to” document online detailing how to replicate the study
The project also reflects Allen’s broader commitment to participatory research, a focus that recently earned international recognition. In April, she received the 2026 Participatory Research Prize from the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, a significant recognition by the French government, for similar work in France.
Allen said she is motivated by the “idea of doing social science that gives back.”
She said she is especially excited for her young French team members
“I’m really happy for them because I’m nearing the end of my career, but they’re still deep in the middle of theirs or at the beginning of theirs. This will be a great feather in their cap to do better work and maybe push the participatory methodology even further into places that haven’t seen the light yet,” Allen said
“When you include everybody, you get a stronger, more relevant, more robust, more trusted outcome than when you do health data in a secret silo underground,” she said
Contact:
Jenny Kincaid Boone
540-314-7207
