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

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

Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the utmost stage for benzene, 5 have been in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new evaluation by the Environmental Integrity Challenge revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that is extremely toxic and risky when exposed to air. Much of the surplus emissions come through leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means which might be onerous to detect.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 6.1 million people within the US live within three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and folks of coloration represented at rates almost twice that of the overall inhabitants.

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

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

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

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene beneath the motion level, year after year, we actually need to see enforcement from the EPA,” said Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Undertaking, in a press convention. “You'll want to begin paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

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

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the best average web benzene ranges in 2021, in accordance with the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 individuals dwell inside a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are folks of shade and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation provides important 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 amenities have greater [exposure] to lifetime most cancers danger than any other a part of the state, but the regulatory companies responsible for protecting us proceed to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Project notes that its evaluation didn't measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjoining to refineries, and doesn't mirror the precise ranges of benzene inside the communities.

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA did not instantly reply to a request for comment.