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 maximum 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 Mission revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a identified carcinogen that is extremely toxic and unstable when exposed to air. A lot of the surplus emissions come via leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which are exhausting to detect.

The Environmental Safety Company estimates 6.1 million folks in the US live within three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and folks of color represented at charges nearly twice that of the final population.

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

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

The EPA requires facilities to take action in the event that they exceed an average 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 year, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the manager director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a press convention. “You might want to begin paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

Lifetime publicity to benzene at levels as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might trigger a risk of up to one further most cancers case for each a million uncovered, according to the EPA. The higher the extent of benzene, the upper the well being danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the best average web benzene ranges in 2021, in line with the analysis of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 people reside within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are people of color and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation gives necessary perception into why the Houston area is an industrial cancer hotspot,” mentioned Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press conference.

“Folks residing close to these facilities have higher [exposure] to lifetime most cancers threat than some other a part of the state, but the regulatory companies answerable for protecting us proceed to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez stated.

Environmental Integrity Mission notes that its evaluation did not measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjoining to refineries, and does not reflect the precise levels of benzene throughout the communities.

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