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

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

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum degree for benzene, 5 had been in Texas, four in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a brand new evaluation by the Environmental Integrity Project revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that is extremely poisonous and volatile when uncovered to air. Much of the excess emissions come by leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means that are arduous to detect.

The Environmental Protection Company estimates 6.1 million folks in the US stay inside three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and folks of color represented at charges practically twice that of the overall inhabitants.

Out of 129 operable oil refineries in 2021, 118 reported benzene concentration registered at or close to the positioning, in any other case often known as the fence-line.

Nearly half of these refineries released benzene ranges above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Mission defines as a long-term potential well being risk.

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

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene beneath the action degree, 12 months after 12 months, we really must see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Challenge, in a press convention. “You must start paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime publicity to benzene at levels as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might trigger a danger of as much as one additional most cancers case for each a million exposed, in response to the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the upper the well being threat.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the best average web benzene levels in 2021, according to the analysis of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 individuals reside within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Amongst them, 62% are people of color and 47% are low-income.

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

“Individuals living near these amenities have better [exposure] to lifetime cancer danger than some other a part of the state, yet the regulatory companies answerable for defending us continue to approve permits for these services,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Project notes that its analysis didn't measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and doesn't reflect the actual levels of benzene inside the communities.

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