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

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

Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost 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 Project revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a identified carcinogen that is extremely poisonous and risky when exposed to air. Much of the surplus emissions come by means of leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which are arduous to detect.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 6.1 million people in the US reside inside three miles of a refinery, with low-income folks and folks of coloration 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 close to the location, otherwise generally known as the fence-line.

Almost 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 facilities to take motion in the event that they exceed a mean 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “motion stage” 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 executive director of the Environmental Integrity Venture, in a press conference. “You might want to 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 may cause a risk of as much as one extra cancer case for each one million exposed, in accordance with the EPA. The upper the level of benzene, the higher the well being danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the best common internet benzene levels in 2021, in line with the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 people stay within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are people of shade and 47% are low-income.

“This analysis offers vital perception into why the Houston space is an industrial cancer hotspot,” said Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press convention.

“People residing near these facilities have greater [exposure] to lifetime most cancers threat than some other a part of the state, yet the regulatory businesses accountable for defending us proceed to approve permits for these services,” Gutierrez stated.

Environmental Integrity Undertaking notes that its evaluation did not measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjoining to refineries, and doesn't reflect the precise ranges of benzene throughout the communities.

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