Air Quality & Emissions¶
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New Orleans Emissions Analysis¶
The air quality analysis for New Orleans examines emissions from port-related vessel operations along the Mississippi River and their impact on ambient air quality in communities at the downstream terminus of the 85-mile Cancer Alley industrial corridor.
Largest Priority 2 At-Berth Emitter
The ICCT's 2024 nationwide port emissions screening identified New Orleans as having the largest at-berth vessel air pollutant emissions of any Priority 2 port — approximately 1,200 tonnes of combined NOx, SOx, and PM annually. This places New Orleans ahead of Houston, Seattle, and Oakland in at-berth emissions volume despite its smaller total cargo tonnage.
Data Sources¶
| Source | Publisher | Data Provided | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICCT Port Emissions Screening | ICCT | Vessel-level at-berth emission estimates | theicct.org |
| AirNow / AQS | EPA | Real-time and historical PM2.5, NOx, ozone from regulatory monitors | aqs.epa.gov |
| National Emissions Inventory | EPA | Port-area emissions from mobile and stationary sources | epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories |
| Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) | EPA | Facility-level chemical releases — 60+ facilities in Orleans Parish | epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program |
| USACE Waterborne Commerce Statistics | USACE | Port tonnage and vessel traffic data | usace.army.mil |
| AIS Vessel Data | MarineCadastre | Vessel position reports for call identification and dwell time | marinecadastre.gov |
Full Assessment Available
The complete analysis for this section — including census-tract-level health quantification, monetized health damages, environmental justice scoring, and scenario modeling — is available through our research services.
See the full methodology in action: Our Duluth-Superior assessment and New York/New Jersey assessment demonstrate the complete analytical depth available for every port on this site.
Contact us to discuss a site-specific assessment for this port community: research@porthealthwatch.org