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

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

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

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that's highly toxic and volatile when exposed to air. Much of the surplus emissions come via leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which can be onerous to detect.

The Environmental Safety Company estimates 6.1 million individuals in the US stay inside three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and folks 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 location, otherwise referred to as the fence-line.

Practically half of these refineries launched benzene levels above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Mission defines as a long-term potential well being menace.

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 under the action level, yr after 12 months, we really need to see enforcement from the EPA,” mentioned Eric Schaeffer, the manager director of the Environmental Integrity Challenge, in a press convention. “You need to start 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 trigger a risk of up to one additional cancer case for every a million exposed, according to the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the upper the health danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the very best common web benzene levels in 2021, according to the analysis of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 folks live inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are people of color and 47% are low-income.

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

“People dwelling close to these services have larger [exposure] to lifetime most cancers danger than every other a part of the state, but the regulatory companies accountable for defending us proceed to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez mentioned.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its evaluation did not measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and does not reflect the precise ranges of benzene inside the communities.

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