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

A dozen US oil refineries last 12 months exceeded the federal limit on average benzene emissions.

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost degree for benzene, five have been in Texas, four in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a brand new evaluation by the Environmental Integrity Challenge revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that's highly poisonous and risky when exposed to air. A lot of the surplus emissions come by way of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means which can be exhausting to detect.

The Environmental Safety Company estimates 6.1 million individuals in the US live within three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and other people of shade represented at rates practically twice that of the general inhabitants.

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

Almost half of those refineries launched benzene ranges above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Challenge defines as a long-term potential health threat.

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

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene beneath the motion degree, 12 months after 12 months, we actually have to see enforcement from the EPA,” mentioned Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Venture, in a press convention. “It is advisable start 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 threat of as much as one extra cancer case for each a million exposed, according to the EPA. The higher the level of benzene, the higher the health threat.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the highest common net benzene ranges in 2021, in accordance with the analysis of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 people dwell within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are folks of shade and 47% are low-income.

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

“Individuals residing near these services have higher [exposure] to lifetime cancer risk than some other part of the state, but the regulatory companies accountable for defending us proceed to approve permits for these services,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its evaluation didn't measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and does not mirror the actual ranges of benzene within the communities.

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA did not instantly respond to a request for remark.