Children living near petrochemical plants in Louisiana have a significantly higher risk of health issues like anemia and learning disabilities, according to an expansive report that combines data from multiple agencies, including EPA and Medicaid to examine the health impacts of air pollution.
The Collaborative Data Analysis Environmental Health Study found nutritional anemia was 34 percent more common in Medicaid recipients living in ZIP codes closer to petrochemical plants than those living farther away. Learning disabilities were 26 percent more common for those living closer to the industrial facilities.
The study’s findings, drawn from government data, support longstanding worries of people who live near Louisiana’s industrial facilities that pollution there causes health problems.
Researchers worked with community members to ensure it would help answer questions that were important to the polluters’ neighbors. The researchers also held focus groups to hear directly from residents in polluted areas about how they thought emissions had affected their health.
