African Americans in Louisiana are dying in disproportionate numbers from COVID-19, a novel
coronavirus that attacks the lungs. There is growing concern about the potential for air pollution to
increase COVID-19 susceptibility in Cancer Alley, a heavily industrialized region in southeast Louisiana
with high proportions of African Americans. Recent evidence linked long-term exposure to PM2.5 (a
common pollutant from industrial and other sources) with increased COVID-19 death rates. Yet, PM2.5
exposure has not been evaluated within Cancer Alley parishes (i.e. counties), and there are no recent
studies of pollution in this region, despite an ongoing wave of industrial expansion that began in ~2014.
Here, we explore the relationships among pollution, race, socioeconomic status, and per capita COVID19 death rates (reported through May 12, 2020) in Louisiana, with an emphasis on Cancer Alley. We use
two independent data sources as indicators of pollution burden: 1) long-term (2000 – 2016) average
PM2.5 concentrations from satellite data, and 2) air pollution-related health risk estimates, specifically,
Respiratory Hazard (RH) and Immunological Hazard (IH) from the most recent (2014) U.S. National Air
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Toxics Assessment. Additionally, we examine changes over time in industrial versus non-industrial PM2.5
emissions since 1990 using the most recent (2017) U.S. National Emissions Inventory, as well as changes
in ground-level PM2.5 concentrations from 2000 – 2018 satellite data. Our goals were to detect potential
disparities in pollution burden or COVID-19 deaths in Louisiana and to identify temporal changes in
PM2.5 pollution across the state.

Published May 14, 2020

Terrell, K., & James, W. (2020). Air Pollution and COVID-19: A Double Whammy for African American and Impoverished Communities in Cancer Alley.