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

A dozen US oil refineries last 12 months exceeded the federal limit on common benzene emissions.

Among the many 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost stage for benzene, five had been in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Mission revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a known carcinogen that is highly poisonous and unstable when exposed to air. A lot of the excess emissions come by leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and different means which might be onerous to detect.

The Environmental Safety Agency estimates 6.1 million people in the US dwell within three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and folks of colour represented at charges almost twice that of the general inhabitants.

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

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

The EPA requires facilities to take motion in the event that they exceed a mean 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action degree” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene below the action stage, year after yr, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Venture, in a press convention. “You have to begin paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter may trigger a risk of as much as one extra most cancers case for each a million uncovered, in response to the EPA. The higher the extent of benzene, the upper the health danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the highest average net benzene ranges in 2021, according to the analysis of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 people live inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Amongst them, 62% are individuals of shade and 47% are low-income.

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

“Folks residing near these services have larger [exposure] to lifetime cancer risk than every other part of the state, but the regulatory companies responsible for defending us continue to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez stated.

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

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