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

A dozen US oil refineries last 12 months exceeded the federal limit on common benzene emissions.

Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost stage for benzene, 5 have been in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Venture revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a identified carcinogen that is highly toxic and risky when exposed to air. A lot of the excess emissions come by leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which can be exhausting to detect.

The Environmental Protection Company estimates 6.1 million individuals within the US stay within three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and other people of color represented at rates nearly twice that of the overall population.

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

Nearly half of these refineries released benzene ranges above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Venture defines as a long-term potential health menace.

The EPA requires amenities to take motion in the event that they exceed an average 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action stage” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene under the action degree, yr after yr, we really need to see enforcement from the EPA,” mentioned Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a press convention. “It's worthwhile to begin paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at levels as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might cause a risk of up to one further cancer case for every a million exposed, in response to the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the higher the health risk.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the very best common web benzene levels in 2021, in accordance with the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 folks dwell inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Amongst them, 62% are individuals of color and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation 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.

“People living close to these facilities have larger [exposure] to lifetime most cancers threat than some other part of the state, yet the regulatory agencies liable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez stated.

Environmental Integrity Mission notes that its analysis did not measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and doesn't replicate the actual ranges of benzene inside the communities.

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA didn't instantly reply to a request for remark.