US oil refineries spewing cancer-causing benzene into communities, report finds | Air 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, 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 Undertaking revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a known carcinogen that is extremely toxic and volatile when uncovered to air. Much of the surplus emissions come by means of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which are onerous to detect.

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

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

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

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

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene under the action level, yr after year, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Challenge, in a press convention. “It is advisable start paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter may trigger a threat of up to one further cancer case for every one million uncovered, in keeping with the EPA. The higher the level of benzene, the upper the well being danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the best average internet benzene ranges in 2021, based on the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 folks dwell within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are folks of shade and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation supplies important insight into why the Houston area is an industrial cancer hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press conference.

“People residing close to these facilities have higher [exposure] to lifetime most cancers risk than another part of the state, but the regulatory businesses chargeable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez mentioned.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its analysis did not measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and doesn't mirror the precise ranges of benzene within the communities.

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.