LSU sits on the edge of Cancer Alley, an 85-mile stretch of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that is home to more than 200 fossil fuel and petrochemical plants.
According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the plants in this area process about 25%of the entire country’s petrochemical products.
Due to the extreme air pollution from these plants, researchers and environmental groups have associated the area with higher rates of cancer, premature births and respiratory diseases.
The chemical company Air Products has been working towards putting a hydrogen plant in Sorrento, Louisiana, which is about 30 minutes from Baton Rouge and right in the middle of Cancer Alley.
Air Products is promoting this hydrogen plant as a green-energy solution, and it is part of the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex. This plant will process natural gas and create hydrogen and ammonia that can be used for transportation or power generation.
The plant will also facilitate carbon capture and sequestration. Instead of emitting excess carbon dioxide into the air, a pipeline will transport it somewhere it can be safely stored underground.
According to Air Products, 95% of carbon emissions from the plant will be stored underground. Despite the argument that this project is a green-energy solution, it has still received criticism.
Sorrento residents’ main concern is the proposed location of this plant. It will be near Sorrento Primary School and the Orange Grove subdivision. Air Products owns another carbon dioxide pipeline near the school that is already active.
Patrick Courreges, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy, said the number one concern with any pipeline is a leak.
“So much of our regulations are aimed at leak prevention,” Courreges said.
Carbon dioxide pipeline leaks are rare, but if one does happen, it can be extremely detrimental to human health.
Brian Snyder, the director of undergraduate programs for the College of the Coast and Environment at LSU, said that storing carbon underground rather than polluting the air is an effective, green-energy solution, as long as it is done correctly.
Air Products’ plant would create ammonia, which is important for producing fertilizers and plastics, Snyder explained. He added that producing ammonia requires burning carbon dioxide, which makes storing the carbon underground helpful.
“It’s one of the only mechanisms we have to mitigate our industrial emissions,” Snyder said.
Still, Snyder warned against the dangers of a pipeline rupture. He explained that carbon dioxide is non-toxic, but it is heavier than air and can be an asphyxiant.
A pipeline rupture could fill the air with carbon dioxide and displace the oxygen, leading to a suffocation hazard. Snyder added that it is important to make sure the pipeline is not located near other pipelines that could also burst if the carbon dioxide one ruptures.
He said that the carbon dioxide pipeline is much higher pressure than other types, so if it ruptures, the pressure could force other pipes to break.
This risk is what concerns Sorrento parents the most since the plant would be near the school. However, Courreges said his department also ensures chemical facilities get properly inspected.
“We’re always checking the personnel,” Courreges said. “Are these folks properly trained and rated to do the work they’re doing? Do they have a drug and alcohol screening program to make sure the folks are working clean? Are the materials of the pipeline they’re building appropriate to what they’re trying to do?”
Courreges added that plants should have regular inspections to check for corrosion. Plants should also properly report their pressure.
Snyder explained that communities farther down the river that are closer to the industrial facilities are affected the most by chemical emissions. However, Baton Rouge’s air quality is still not ideal.
In 2024, the American Lung Association ranked Baton Rouge the 42nd most polluted city in the United States for ozone pollution, making it the worst in the southeast.
The areas in Baton Rouge that are the most affected by chemical emissions are near ExxonMobil’s oil refinery on Scenic Highway. This chemical plant is the sixth-largest oil refinery in the U.S.
“Air pollution actually drops off with distance pretty dramatically,” Snyder said.
For example, he explained that south Baton Rouge is 10-15 miles away from the ExxonMobil refinery, so communities there are not nearly as affected as in north Baton Rouge.
Air Products’ proposed pipeline would be a half mile from Sorrento Primary School. While the pipeline is intended to prevent air pollution, the short distance would still put many at risk if a carbon dioxide leak were to happen.
To continue with the project, Air Products needs to obtain a coastal use permit from the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy and a Clean Water Act permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Courreges said that Air Products has submitted the application for the coastal use permit. He explained that it has gone to public hearing, but the department has not yet made a decision on whether the application is approved, denied or needs modification.
Courreges said that it takes several years to review chemical companies’ applications because of the concerns with storing the carbon dioxide underground. He explained how underground carbon storage should be done properly.
“What they’re looking for is zones with confining layers deep underground with shales or clay, or something that is not going to allow any upward movement of whatever you’re injecting,” Courreges said.
Courreges said that the Department of Conservation and Energy has to check for any natural pathways upward and any fractures or faulting that would indicate there is a pathway for the carbon dioxide to move upward.
As for the Clean Water Act permit, the Army Corps of Engineers has also not made a decision about Air Products’ application.
Although many Sorrento residents are concerned about this project, Snyder said it is one of the only options to prevent air pollution.
“The bottom line is if we want to have an industrial type of economy, and we don’t want to have a lot of climate change, we’ve got to do something with that carbon dioxide,” Snyder said. “Carbon capture and storage is essentially the only real option.”
