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

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

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost level for benzene, 5 had 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 identified carcinogen that's extremely poisonous and unstable when uncovered to air. Much of the surplus emissions come by way of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means which are arduous to detect.

The Environmental Protection Company estimates 6.1 million individuals within the US stay inside three miles of a refinery, with low-income folks and other people of colour represented at rates practically twice that of the general inhabitants.

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

Practically half of these refineries launched benzene ranges above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Undertaking defines as a long-term potential health risk.

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

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene below the motion level, yr after yr, we really must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the manager director of the Environmental Integrity Undertaking, in a press convention. “You'll want to begin paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter could trigger a risk of as much as one further cancer case for each one million exposed, according to the EPA. The higher the extent of benzene, the higher the well being threat.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the best average internet benzene ranges in 2021, based on the analysis of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 people reside inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are people of coloration and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation provides necessary insight into why the Houston area is an industrial cancer hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press convention.

“Folks living near these services have greater [exposure] to lifetime cancer threat than another a part of the state, yet the regulatory companies responsible for protecting us proceed to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez said.

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

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