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

A dozen US oil refineries last year exceeded the federal limit on common 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 Mission revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that's extremely toxic and unstable when uncovered to air. A lot of the surplus emissions come by means of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means which might be laborious to detect.

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

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

Nearly half of those refineries released benzene levels above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Undertaking defines as a long-term potential health threat.

The EPA requires amenities 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 beneath the motion stage, 12 months after year, we really must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Challenge, in a press convention. “It is advisable begin 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 cause a danger of as much as one extra most cancers case for every one million exposed, in response to the EPA. The higher the level of benzene, the higher the health danger.

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

“This evaluation offers important insight into why the Houston area is an industrial cancer hotspot,” stated Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press conference.

“People dwelling close to these services have greater [exposure] to lifetime most cancers danger than some other part of the state, yet the regulatory companies accountable for defending us continue to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez stated.

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

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.