US oil refineries spewing cancer-causing benzene into communities, report finds | 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 level for benzene, five were 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 recognized carcinogen that's extremely poisonous and unstable when exposed to air. A lot of the excess emissions come by means of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means which might be laborious to detect.

The Environmental Safety Agency estimates 6.1 million folks in the US stay within three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and people of coloration represented at charges nearly twice that of the overall population.

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

Practically half of these refineries launched benzene ranges 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 motion in the event that they exceed an average 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action stage” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene under the action level, 12 months after 12 months, we actually need to see enforcement from the EPA,” mentioned Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a press conference. “It's good to begin paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at ranges as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might trigger a threat of as much as one further most cancers case for every a million uncovered, in accordance with the EPA. The upper the level of benzene, the upper the health danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the highest average net benzene levels in 2021, in keeping with the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 folks stay inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Amongst them, 62% are folks of colour and 47% are low-income.

“This analysis supplies necessary perception into why the Houston space is an industrial cancer hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press conference.

“People residing near these amenities have better [exposure] to lifetime most cancers risk than another a part of the state, but the regulatory agencies accountable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these services,” Gutierrez stated.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its evaluation did not measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and doesn't reflect the precise levels of benzene within the communities.

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