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

A dozen US oil refineries final year exceeded the federal limit on average benzene emissions.

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

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that is extremely poisonous and unstable when exposed to air. Much of the excess emissions come by means of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means that are arduous to detect.

The Environmental Safety Agency estimates 6.1 million individuals in the US live inside three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and people of coloration represented at charges almost twice that of the general inhabitants.

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

Almost half of those refineries launched benzene levels above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Undertaking defines as a long-term potential well being risk.

The EPA requires facilities to take motion in the event that they exceed a mean 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action degree” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene beneath the action level, year after yr, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Venture, in a press convention. “It's essential start paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

Lifetime publicity to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might trigger a threat of up to one further cancer case for each a million uncovered, based on the EPA. The upper the level of benzene, the higher the health danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the highest common web benzene ranges in 2021, in line with the analysis of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 people dwell inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are individuals of color and 47% are low-income.

“This analysis provides important insight into why the Houston area is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” stated Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press convention.

“Individuals dwelling near these amenities have greater [exposure] to lifetime cancer threat than some other part of the state, yet the regulatory agencies accountable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its evaluation didn't measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and does not mirror the actual ranges of benzene throughout the communities.

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