US oil refineries spewing cancer-causing benzene into communities, report finds | Air pollution

A dozen US oil refineries last yr exceeded the federal restrict on average benzene emissions.

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost stage for benzene, five have been in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a brand new evaluation by the Environmental Integrity Undertaking revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that is highly poisonous and volatile when exposed to air. A lot of the surplus emissions come through leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which can be exhausting to detect.

The Environmental Safety Agency estimates 6.1 million folks within the US reside within three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and other people of color represented at charges practically twice that of the overall inhabitants.

Out of 129 operable oil refineries in 2021, 118 reported benzene concentration registered at or near the positioning, in any other case referred to as the fence-line.

Practically half of these refineries released benzene levels above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Venture defines as a long-term potential well being threat.

The EPA requires facilities to take action if they exceed a mean 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action stage” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene below the motion stage, yr after 12 months, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the manager director of the Environmental Integrity Undertaking, in a press conference. “You might want to begin paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter could cause a threat of up to one additional most cancers case for each one million uncovered, according to the EPA. The upper the level of benzene, the higher the well being risk.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the very best average net benzene ranges in 2021, in line with the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 folks dwell within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are individuals of shade and 47% are low-income.

“This analysis offers important perception into why the Houston space is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press conference.

“Folks living near these services have larger [exposure] to lifetime most cancers threat than every other part of the state, yet the regulatory businesses responsible for defending us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez mentioned.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its analysis didn't measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and does not reflect the precise ranges of benzene inside the communities.

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA did not instantly reply to a request for remark.