Aerial photo of the nearby Chevron Pascagoula Refinery in Pascagoula, MS
The Cherokee Concerned Citizens (CCC) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, are battling severe environmental pollution from nearby industrial sites, including a Superfund location. Formed in 2013, the community has faced increased instances of sickness and cancer. The community is also located in a high-flood-risk area. Their goal is to produce strong scientific evidence to make a case to the city for relocation. Although they face skepticism from agencies and political resistance, the CCC remains committed to ensuring health safety and environmental justice for their community.
The project team published a peer reviewed article about their work together and issued the press release below regarding it:
Pascagoula, MS — March 31, 2025 — A community-based air monitoring study in the Cherokee Forest neighborhood of Pascagoula, Mississippi, captured short-term industrial pollution episodes that are directly affecting residents but have gone undetected by regulatory monitoring methods. The study, initiated by an American Geophysical Union Thriving Earth Exchange partnership between Cherokee Concerned Citizens, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the University of New Hampshire, demonstrates the power of community-driven air monitoring to capture pollution episodes in real time and challenge existing monitoring practices in communities impacted by industrial pollution.
The project was inspired by a significant pollution event that left residents feeling ill. When the state regulatory agency arrived to take air samples, the air was already clear again, resulting in no recorded pollution. Following this event, the community set up low-cost air monitors that exposed a recurring pattern of short-lived, intense pollution episodes that aligned with residents’ health complaints, including nausea, burning eyes, and sore throats. In one striking instance, multiple households simultaneously reported vomiting and nausea, which coincided with an intense pollution increase detected by the monitors.
“Our findings demonstrate how current monitoring strategies fail to capture the full scope of pollution exposure in communities sitting on the fence line of heavy industry,” said Caroline Frischmon, graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Short-term spikes in pollution, like the ones we observed, impact the community’s daily lives but are often overlooked because regulatory monitors either average data over longer periods or take samples after the pollution has already dissipated.
The need for alternative monitoring approaches has become even more urgent as the new Trump administration aims to weaken oversight of industrial emissions and has ordered federal funding cuts for air monitoring projects. While low-cost air sensors are proving invaluable for community-led monitoring, they come with challenges—particularly in detecting pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which require extensive calibration and technical expertise that many communities lack (especially without federal funding support). However, this study took a different approach by analyzing relative pollution levels rather than absolute concentrations, bypassing the need for complex calibration while still identifying impactful pollution episodes.
“Finally, we have strong evidence showing how our neighborhood is more impacted than others,” said Barbara, leader of Cherokee Concerned Citizens. “This is a turning point for our fight for cleaner air.”
The findings from this study will be used to advocate for more responsive pollution monitoring practices at the state level. The methods applied in this study offer an accessible model for other communities to document pollution impacts that might be otherwise missed by regulatory monitoring.
###
For more information on this project or to view the full study, please visit https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adc28a.
###
In 2023, CCC with partner organization Buy-In Community Planning conducted a survey of 130 households in their neighborhood to determine the level of buyout interest. Despite the high level of interest, the city of Pascagoula declined their request to apply for funding for a buyout using FEMA BRIC funding through the state of Mississippi. However, they have not given up.
Earlier this year, CCC’s partner Buy-In Community Planning received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to work directly with them to develop a first-of-its-kind Relocation to Restoration plan. This plan aims to develop a strategy for acquiring high risk properties voluntarily from willing owners and restore the parcels into native gulf coast landscapes. This type of ecosystem restoration will not only improve biodiversity, water quality, and ecosystem health, but provide an essential ecological “green buffer” to protect nearby the homes and businesses of East Pascagoula from hurricanes, sea level rise, and the ongoing industrial pollution from Bayou Casotte Industrial Park.
Their vision is a TAP that will meet quarterly on zoom to provide feedback on the initiative, provide insight into technical references and resources that may support the project, help to develop a robust strategy for sharing the outcomes of their report, and work with them to make the necessary connections and support network to realize their vision for a more resilient Pascagoula.
CCC has engaged experts in the areas of flood risk, relocation, environmental restoration and environmental justice to participate in a Technical Advisory Panel (TAP).
Duration: 18 months
The TAP will meet quarterly over an 18 month period of performance.
The Cherokee Concerned Citizens (CCC) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, are deeply engaged in a struggle to combat the environmental pollution besieging their neighborhood. Living perilously close to multiple polluting facilities, including Chevron Refinery, Gulf LNG, Bollinger, BP Enterprise, Destin Pipeline, Olex, and MS Phosphates Superfund, they are exposed to severe air and noise pollution.
Formed in 2013 after residents realized the extent of their shared concerns about noise, odors, and dust, the group found that these issues were causing significant health problems. In their quest for justice, the CCC has utilized PurpleAir monitors to measure particulate matter, capturing concrete data on the air pollution levels. Research indicates that the neighborhood is a cancer hotspot, with cancer risks 3.4 times higher than EPA acceptable levels. A health survey revealed an average of nine sick days per month per person, with at least 35 cancer cases and numerous other health issues reported. In the last five years, at least 23 residents have died from cancer or heart and lung diseases. Despite the CCC’s diligent efforts and involvement in a lawsuit with 50 households, responses from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been underwhelming. The ineffectiveness of engaging in the Title 5 permitting process has further compounded their frustrations.
CCC is exploring the possibility of convincing the city to relocate residents of the neighborhood and transform the area into an open space zone containing green infrastructure such as constructed wetlands. This green infrastructure zone could potentially bring benefits to a city which already has a complicated issue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and their flood maps. Development of this green infrastructure solution presents a beneficial alternative to the City rather than relying on a private sector buyout.
Jennifer Crosslin is a lifelong resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and community organizer working to create a more equitable, safe, and sustainable Gulf Coast. She joined the Cherokee Concerned Citizens to provide organizing support to the residents of Cherokee subdivision in Pascagoula, MS in their efforts to protect their health and wellbeing against industrial pollution.
Jennifer Baka is an Associate Professor of Geography and an Associate at the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State. She conducts interdisciplinary research on how energy systems impact human-environment relationships and environmental governance. Since 2020, she has been a Member of the Environmental Justice Advisory Board for the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Prior to joining Penn State, she was an Assistant Professor of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics from 2013-16. She earned a PhD in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley. Prior to graduate school, Dr. Baka worked in the energy industry for numerous years first as an economic consultant in Washington, DC and second as a consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris, France.
Carl Fredrick Guico Aquino (he/him/his) is a Field Organizer for Climate Action PA, a climate action project of the League of Conservation Voters and former Legislative Intern for Senator Andrew Zwicker (New Jersey’s 16th Legislative District). He completed his Master of Science in Geosciences at Penn State specializing in geophysical climate risk assessment to support decision making under deep uncertainty (DMDU). He also spent two years as a Graduate Fellow for Science Advocacy and Diversity (GFSAD) where he led over 14 programs in science advocacy and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for science. As an undergrad, Carl double majored in Earth Sciences and Finance, and minored in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at Penn State. Carl is passionate about justice and equity considerations for climate change and decarbonization. Prior to becoming a scientist, Carl wrote music for film and television in Los Angeles, California.
