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

A dozen US oil refineries final year exceeded the federal limit on common benzene emissions.

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

Benzene is a known carcinogen that is highly toxic and risky when exposed to air. Much of the excess emissions come via leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which might be onerous to detect.

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

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

Nearly half of those refineries launched benzene ranges above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Venture defines as a long-term potential well being menace.

The EPA requires services to take motion if they exceed an average 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “motion level” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene under the action stage, year after year, we really have to see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Mission, in a press convention. “You need 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 may cause a risk of as much as one extra most cancers case for each a million uncovered, based on the EPA. The higher the level of benzene, the higher the well being threat.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the highest average web benzene levels in 2021, in accordance with the analysis of the self-reported knowledge. Roughly 37,000 individuals reside inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are people of coloration and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation provides essential insight into why the Houston area is an industrial cancer hotspot,” stated Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press convention.

“Individuals residing near these facilities have larger [exposure] to lifetime most cancers danger than some other part of the state, yet the regulatory businesses responsible for protecting us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez stated.

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

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