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

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

Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost stage for benzene, five were in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a brand new evaluation by the Environmental Integrity Mission revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a known carcinogen that's extremely poisonous and risky when uncovered to air. A lot of the excess emissions come by leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means which can be hard to detect.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 6.1 million individuals in the US live within three miles of a refinery, with low-income folks and folks of color represented at charges almost 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, otherwise often known as the fence-line.

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

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 motion degree, year after 12 months, we actually need to see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a press conference. “That you must begin paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at levels as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter might trigger a threat of as much as one extra cancer case for every a million uncovered, in keeping with the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the higher the well being danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the best average internet benzene levels in 2021, in keeping with the analysis of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 folks dwell within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are individuals of shade and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation supplies vital insight into why the Houston space is an industrial cancer hotspot,” mentioned Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press conference.

“People dwelling near these services have greater [exposure] to lifetime most cancers danger than any other part of the state, yet the regulatory agencies accountable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez mentioned.

Environmental Integrity Project notes that its analysis didn't measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjoining to refineries, and does not mirror the precise levels of benzene inside the communities.

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA didn't instantly reply to a request for remark.