CAMPUS AIR QUALITY

Louisiana air quality among worst in the nation, LSU fares better

BY OLIVER BUTCHER @OliverButcher73

Louisiana has the highest air pollution of any state in the nation, according to 2019 data from the Environmental Protection Agency. And it’s taking a toll on residents.

High levels of air pollution cause an estimated 85 new cancer cases a year in Louisiana, according to a 2022 study by the Tulane Law Environmental Clinic. Louisiana’s petrochemical belt along the Mississippi River, dubbed “Cancer Alley,” has long been a source of health complaints from the predominantly Black residents who reside along the industrial plants.

That belt stretches from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Where does that leave LSU in terms of air quality?

According to HouseFresh, a team of air quality experts LSU’s air quality is typically fine, with a median air quality index yearround of 38, well within what the federal government considers “good,” which is the best possible category to be in. This means that on a normal day on campus, the air quality is no cause for concern.

Abnormal days, however, happen—the most common of which you’ve probably already experi-

STUDENT LIFE enced.

They’re called “temperature inversions,” and they’re the reason some days you’ll step outside, and the air will be hazy and give off the faint smell of sulfur, according to Paul Miller, an associate professor at the College of Coast and Environment specializing in meteorology. Simply put, it’s when the air temperature above the ground is warmer than the temperature at the ground, the inverse of what it should be.

“Because the air at the surface is very cold, it’s very stable, so that air isn’t able to rise because as it attempts to rise into the atmosphere, it runs into air that is warmer than itself and it gets forced back to its original position,” Miller said. “That means that there’s very little mixing occurring, that any pollution that is emitted into those conditions will just sit and accumulate and then stay where they are.”

In LSU’s case, those trapped emissions are from vehicles and chemical refineries along the Mississippi River, thus the sulfuric scent, Miller said. He estimates temperature inversions happen in LSU’s region roughly a couple dozen times a year.

But there’s another source of air contaminants originating from one of the most recognizable parts of campus: the University Lakes.

LSU’s lakes are home to the 10th most toxic algal bloom in the world, according to a study conducted by BlueGreen Water Technologies.

When these blooms begin to rot away, the bacteria released can have serious impacts on the lungs, throats and eyes of anyone who smells the “rotting green slime,” according to an official from the company interviewed by WDSU. The blooms are suspected to be caused by fertilizer runoff from nearby lawns.

The university has partnered with the state and city for a lake restoration project. This effort, currently in phase one, includes dredging five of the six lakes around the university and improving paths for bikers and pedestrians.

The project has garnered $50 million in committed funding from various sources, according see POLLUTION, page 4

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