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

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

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum stage for benzene, five were in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a brand new evaluation by the Environmental Integrity Project revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that's highly poisonous and risky when exposed to air. Much of the surplus emissions come by means of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which might be onerous to detect.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 6.1 million folks in the US dwell inside three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and other people of shade represented at charges practically twice that of the overall population.

Out of 129 operable oil refineries in 2021, 118 reported benzene focus registered at or close to the site, in any other case often known as the fence-line.

Almost half of these refineries launched 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 if they exceed a median 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action stage” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene under the action level, year after yr, we really have to see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Undertaking, in a press convention. “You must start paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime publicity to benzene at ranges as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter could cause a threat of up to one extra cancer case for each one million exposed, based on the EPA. The higher the extent of benzene, the higher the health risk.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the highest average web benzene levels in 2021, based on the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 people stay inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are folks of color and 47% are low-income.

“This analysis gives necessary perception into why the Houston area is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press conference.

“Folks residing close to these amenities have greater [exposure] to lifetime cancer threat than some other a part of the state, but the regulatory businesses accountable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these services,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its evaluation did not measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and doesn't reflect the precise ranges of benzene within the communities.

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