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 maximum level for benzene, 5 had been in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new evaluation by the Environmental Integrity Challenge revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that is extremely poisonous and volatile when uncovered to air. A lot of the surplus emissions come through leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means that are exhausting to detect.

The Environmental Protection Company estimates 6.1 million individuals in the US live within three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and 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 close to the positioning, otherwise often called the fence-line.

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

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

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene below the motion degree, yr after 12 months, we really need to see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a press conference. “You could begin paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at levels as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might cause a danger of as much as one further most cancers case for every a million uncovered, based on the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the higher the health danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the very best average internet benzene ranges in 2021, based on the evaluation of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 folks stay within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Amongst them, 62% are folks of color and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation gives essential perception into why the Houston area is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press conference.

“People living near these services have larger [exposure] to lifetime most cancers threat than some other a part of the state, but the regulatory agencies liable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez said.

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

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA did not immediately reply to a request for remark.