Brown University researchers to investigate environmental impacts of wood pellet production

A Brown University research team has received federal funding to conduct the first air-quality and community noise assessment of Mississippi communities impacted by the production of wood pellets.
The wood pellet industry is projected to nearly double in size by 2026, with growth most pronounced in the rural South.
Brown University said 91% of wood pellet manufacturing plants are located here, constituting 75% of US production
Mississippi alone is home to seven wood pellet plants. Four are fully operational and three are in development - and anticipated to be the largest in the world.
But this growing industry is facing scrutiny over its environmental, health and social impacts; similar to fossil fuel refineries, wood pellet plants are more than twice as likely to be located in predominantly Black and poor communities, said Brown.
Erica Walker, RGSS Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health, and her team of researchers have received a $5.8 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for their investigations into the emissions from wood pellet plants in Mississippi.
This work represents the first study of wood pellet emissions on human health in the United States.
“It is fascinating–but not surprising–that predominantly Black and/or poor communities across Mississippi are being asked to undergird the shift to renewable and sustainable energy production,” said Walker. “When these large wood pellet companies move into these communities, they are bringing with them environmental externalities, which may negatively impact the towns and cities nearby. This award,” she said, “provides us with the opportunity to actually spell out what these environmental externalities are and to what extent they may negatively impact the health and wellbeing of the surrounding community.”
In collaboration with Dr Krystal Martin from Greater Greener Gloster Project, Dr Courtney Roper from the University of Mississippi, and Dr Sharelle Barber from Drexel University, Walker is expanding her research into the emissions from the industry in the state of Mississippi.
Specifically, this includes noise, particulate matter, black carbon, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCS)—which potentially exceed the thresholds established by the Clean Air Act by up to five times.
Walker and her team have spent the last year enrolling families with children—collecting survey and biological information—with the aim of understanding how these emissions are impacting children across the life course.
They are focused on the Mississippi town of Gloster, home to 897 people, of which 71% are Black and 38.6% live in poverty, with an annual median income of $22,131.
They point out that vulnerable populations and children in particular are impacted by air pollution emitted from wood pellet production. Proximity to these plants is associated with a statistically significant higher risk of hospitalization for respiratory illnesses and increased asthma-like symptoms in children.
Over the next five years, and with the support of the NIH, the team will be launching a study quantifying the health impacts of wood pellet manufacturing in three types of communities: those with an operational wood pellet plant, those with a proposed wood pellet plant, and those with no wood pellet plants and no (or limited) industrial manufacturing.
They will be conducting a combined noise and air pollution assessment and will use these measurements to assess their impact on children’s respiratory health and stress.
They will also engage the community by providing research training for Mississippi-based high-school, community college, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as older adults – who will be using the environmental-literacy awareness tools and the app developed by Walker, NoiseScore.
“I was born and raised in extreme poverty in Mississippi. While my community didn't have a large wood pellet company, the soundtrack of my childhood included the incessant loud noise and vibrations from the freight trains that would haul Mississippi-made products to ports to ship throughout the world. Would I have made it to a physically and mentally healthy adulthood if these activities were right in my backyard? This funding will allow me to answer this question," said Walker.