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

A dozen US oil refineries last year exceeded the federal restrict on common benzene emissions.

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost degree 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 Project revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that is extremely toxic and unstable when exposed to air. Much of the excess emissions come by means of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means that are onerous to detect.

The Environmental Safety Company estimates 6.1 million individuals within the US stay within three miles of a refinery, with low-income folks and other people of color represented at charges almost twice that of the general population.

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

Practically half of those refineries released benzene ranges above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Undertaking defines as a long-term potential health risk.

The EPA requires facilities to take motion in the event that they exceed a mean 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “motion level” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene below the motion stage, year after yr, we really need to see enforcement from the EPA,” mentioned Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a press convention. “You want to begin paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at ranges as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might cause a threat of as much as one further most cancers case for every one million uncovered, in accordance with the EPA. The higher the extent of benzene, the upper the well being risk.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the highest average net benzene ranges in 2021, according to the evaluation of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 folks reside inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are people of shade and 47% are low-income.

“This analysis supplies vital insight into why the Houston area is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” stated Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press convention.

“Folks residing close to these services have larger [exposure] to lifetime most cancers threat than some other a part of the state, but the regulatory agencies answerable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez mentioned.

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

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