A natural gas terminal in South Jersey would put the health of 1.9 million people at risk

While many people see the value in checking their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, some may overlook broader threats to public health, like a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal being built in their backyard. But that could be happening right here in New Jersey, and it threatens to have a serious impact on the health and well-being of approximately 1.9 million people in the region.

The project in question, proposed by an affiliate of New Fortress Energy called Delaware River Partners, would allow liquid methane to be transported over a 200-mile truck and train route from Wyalusing, Pa., about an hour’s drive northwest of Scranton, to a port on the Delaware River in Gibbstown, N.J., where it would be loaded onto ships.

Overground transport of this highly flammable and volatile substance in rail cars over such a long distance is not currently permitted by federal regulators. If transport of LNG by train is banned, the gas would be transported by truck. That would mean up to 1,650 polluting truck trips every day, carrying LNG and other hazardous liquids through communities in Camden, Gloucester, and Burlington Counties.

If trucks are used for transport, air pollution throughout the region would increase, especially in communities like Camden that are already burdened by multiple sources of pollution. Traffic-induced pollution is associated with many adverse health outcomes from children’s cognitive development to new onset hypertension and heart attacks. Air pollution exposure among pregnant women can cause preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth. This noxious cocktail contains ozone, fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds.

Transporting LNG by rail is hardly the safest alternative. Every day, 100-car “bomb trains” would carry the highly pressurized and temperature-controlled (to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit) liquid. A breakdown in the integrity of the LNG canisters or a derailment that released LNG, if ignited, could result in devastating fires that burn so hot that they are exceedingly difficult to extinguish and nearly impossible to contain. This represents a massive safety threat: As many as 1.9 million people live within two miles of the proposed transportation route.

As with any fossil fuel infrastructure, there are other threats to consider. The fracking that will produce the gas is linked to air and water pollution, along with a range of other negative health impacts for nearby communities.

Climate change must also be considered. The building of new gas infrastructure propels the economy further away from clean energy and tethers us to the dirty, fossilized energy of the past. Climate change encompasses not only weather events with increasing heat and associated illnesses, more severe hurricanes, storms, flooding, and tornadoes. It also means sea-level rise impacting coastal communities, changes in infectious diseases like Lyme disease as vectors move with the climate, and increasing mental health issues.

» READ MORE: Be a climate city or own a natural gas utility? Philly can’t do both. | Editorial

The threats to communities in South Jersey from this project cross town lines, culture lines, and class lines, and could impact millions of people — especially the most vulnerable. That is why so many people are mobilizing to stop it. To date, 15 New Jersey municipalities have passed resolutions opposing the project, and more than 90 organizations have signed a letter asking Gov. Phil Murphy to reject permits for the Gibbstown terminal. Thousands of people signed a petition calling for the end to LNG transport, and dozens turned out to a forum at Rutgers University-Camden to hear about what we can do to stop the New Fortress project.

For many of us, stopping a liquefied natural gas terminal in South Jersey is a crucial preventative health measure. We do not want to wait for a study a decade down the road to find out all the deleterious impacts this project would have on our communities. We must tell President Joe Biden and Gov. Murphy to institute the principles of preventative health and stop the problem before it starts by prohibiting the development, transport, and export of LNG.

Elizabeth Cerceo is an academic hospitalist living in Cherry Hill, chair of health and public policy for the New Jersey chapter of the American College of Physicians, and a member of Clinicians for Climate Action New Jersey. Tracy Carluccio is deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.