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

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

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum stage for benzene, five had been in Texas, four in Louisiana, and one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Challenge revealed on Thursday.

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

The Environmental Protection Company estimates 6.1 million individuals within the US reside within three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and other people of shade represented at rates almost twice that of the final inhabitants.

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

Almost 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 menace.

The EPA requires amenities to take action if they exceed a mean 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action level” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene beneath the action level, 12 months after yr, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the manager director of the Environmental Integrity Undertaking, in a press conference. “It is advisable to begin paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime publicity to benzene at levels as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter could cause a risk of as much as one extra cancer case for every a million exposed, based on the EPA. The higher the extent of benzene, the upper the well being threat.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the highest common web benzene levels in 2021, in accordance with the analysis of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 individuals stay within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are individuals of color and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation gives vital insight into why the Houston space is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press convention.

“Individuals dwelling near these facilities have higher [exposure] to lifetime cancer danger than some other a part of the state, yet the regulatory companies chargeable for defending us proceed to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Project notes that its analysis didn't measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and doesn't mirror the actual levels of benzene throughout the communities.

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