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 common benzene emissions.

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum stage for benzene, 5 were in Texas, four in Louisiana, and one every 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 highly toxic and unstable when exposed to air. A lot of the surplus emissions come via leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which might be hard to detect.

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

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

Almost half of those refineries released benzene levels above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Mission defines as a long-term potential well being menace.

The EPA requires facilities to take action if 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 action stage, year after year, we actually have to 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 ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime publicity to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might trigger a danger of as much as one further most cancers case for every a million exposed, based on the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the higher the health threat.

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

“This analysis gives important perception into why the Houston area is an industrial cancer hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press conference.

“Folks dwelling close to these amenities have greater [exposure] to lifetime most cancers risk than some other a part of the state, yet the regulatory agencies liable for defending us proceed to approve permits for these services,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Project notes that its evaluation didn't measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjoining to refineries, and doesn't mirror the actual ranges of benzene inside the communities.

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.