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

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

Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum level for benzene, 5 had been in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Venture revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a identified carcinogen that is highly toxic and risky when exposed to air. A lot of the excess emissions come via leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means that are exhausting to detect.

The Environmental Safety Agency estimates 6.1 million individuals within the US reside within three miles of a refinery, with low-income folks and folks of colour represented at rates practically twice that of the overall population.

Out of 129 operable oil refineries in 2021, 118 reported benzene concentration registered at or near the positioning, 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 Venture defines as a long-term potential well being threat.

The EPA requires amenities 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 action level, 12 months after year, we really need to see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the manager director of the Environmental Integrity Mission, in a press conference. “You should start paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

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

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the highest common web benzene levels in 2021, in line with the analysis of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 folks live inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Amongst them, 62% are folks of shade and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation provides necessary perception into why the Houston space is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” mentioned Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press convention.

“Individuals dwelling close to these services have better [exposure] to lifetime cancer threat than some other part of the state, but the regulatory businesses chargeable for defending us proceed to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez stated.

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

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