New Orleans — An environmental health study of infants treated at two major Louisiana hospitals found a strong connection between levels of toxic industrial air pollution and severe congenital heart defects in newborns, with babies from highly-polluted neighborhoods four times more likely to suffer these cardiac defects.
The study by Dr. Kimberly Terrell, Research Scientist at the Environmental Integrity Project, and Dr. Kelly Gajewski, a pediatric cardiologist at Manning Family Children’s Hospital and professor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, along with five colleagues, was published in the journal Environmental Health. It is the first study to document a clear link between levels of toxic industrial air pollution and severe congenital heart defects. The findings suggest that stronger controls on industrial air pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, and toluene would improve the survival and health of newborns.
“Our study suggests that Louisiana’s health burden from industrial pollution starts in the womb,” said Dr. Kimberly Terrell. “Efforts to reduce toxic emissions in Louisiana could not only lower the risk of birth defects, but also the risk of cancer, asthma, and other diseases caused by these chemicals.”
“Although modern medical care can save the lives of babies born with serious heart defects, almost all of these children will continue to need specialized care and will face higher risks of learning disabilities, mental health disorders, heart failure, or other organ problems during their lifetime,” said Dr. Kelly Gajewski.
The study team, which included physicians and researchers from LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, Tulane University, Manning Family Children’s Hospital, Ochsner Children’s Hospital, and the Environmental Integrity Project, used medical record data for their analysis. The dataset included 454 infants born in southeast Louisiana with congenital heart defects between 2018 and 2022 who were treated in the New Orleans metro area at either Manning Family Children’s Hospital (formerly Children’s Hospital New Orleans) or Ochsner Children’s Hospital, which are the only facilities in Louisiana that can provide surgery for congenital heart defects.
The researchers examined the levels of industrial toxic air pollution in the neighborhoods where the mothers of these infants lived, in comparison to pollution levels for infants without heart defects, who were randomly selected from state birth records.
The pollution levels came from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk-screening database that uses self-reported industrial emissions and advanced scientific modeling to predict levels of toxic chemicals in the air. The EPA database reveals large hotspots of toxic air pollution, including chemicals known to cause birth defects, along a 184-mile stretch of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico that has more than 350 industrial facilities, mostly petrochemical plants.
The study found that higher levels of industrial pollution were associated with increased odds of severe congenital heart defects. Compared to low-pollution areas in the region, the odds of congenital heart defect were 4.3 times higher for infants from the toxic hotspots, and 3.1 times higher for infants from places with intermediate pollution levels.
The researchers found that these odds were separate from the effects of other health risks, like maternal smoking, alcohol use, or diabetes, because infants with those risk factors were excluded from the study. To avoid scientific bias, the study focused on the types of cases most likely to be treated at these Louisiana hospitals, primarily those covered by government insurance.
Of the 454 children with heart defects studied, 194 of the cases were severe and resulted in surgery and 38 of the children died during the study’s timeframe.
The study recommends additional research to address the adequacy of EPA’s existing “acceptable risk” thresholds for benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, and at least 17 other toxic air pollutants known to cause harm to unborn babies.
More reliable air monitoring data could help policymakers determine whether their efforts should focus on lowering emissions of these toxins to comply with existing limits, or whether more stringent limits and environmental protections are needed, the researchers concluded.
Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common and most lethal type of birth defect worldwide, impacting approximately 1 to 2 percent of births in the U.S. and globally. Approximately 15 percent of infants born in the U.S. with serious forms of congenital heart defects do not survive one year.
Residents who are regularly exposed to harmful pollutants face increased risks of life-threatening illnesses. In southeast Louisiana, these risks are familiar to many residents of the Mississippi River industrial corridor, a conglomeration of air pollution hotspots that is sometimes called “Cancer Alley.” Previous studies by Dr. Terrell and other research groups have found evidence that toxic air pollution contributes significantly to Louisiana’s overall disease burden, including the prevalence of cancer and the frequency of low birthweight or premature birth.
Louisiana consistently reports among the highest rates of industrial emissions and infant mortality in the U.S. In 2022, Louisiana reported 48 million pounds of toxic industrial emissions, compared to a national average of 10 million pounds, and 7.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to a national average of 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
The researchers who contributed to the article, in addition to Drs. Terrell and Gajewski, were Marla Johnston, Dr. Taylor E. Katt, Dr. Diego Lara, Dr. Ketaki Mukhopadhyay and Gianna St. Julien.
For a link to the study, click here.
The Environmental Integrity Project is America’s environmental watchdog. We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to enforcing environmental laws to protect public health and the environment.
Media contact: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, (443) 510-2574 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org
