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

A dozen US oil refineries final year exceeded the federal restrict on average benzene emissions.

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

Benzene is a recognized carcinogen that's highly toxic and risky when uncovered to air. A lot of the excess emissions come via leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means that are exhausting to detect.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 6.1 million people in the US live within three miles of a refinery, with low-income individuals and people of coloration represented at charges practically twice that of the general population.

Out of 129 operable oil refineries in 2021, 118 reported benzene focus registered at or near the positioning, in any other case often called the fence-line.

Nearly half of these refineries released benzene ranges above 3 micrograms per cubic meter, which the Environmental Integrity Venture defines as a long-term potential health menace.

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

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene below the motion degree, year after yr, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a press conference. “It's good to begin paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

Lifetime publicity to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter could cause a risk of as much as one further most cancers case for every a million exposed, in response to the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the upper the health threat.

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

“This analysis gives important perception into why the Houston area is an industrial cancer hotspot,” stated Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press convention.

“Individuals residing close to these facilities have better [exposure] to lifetime cancer risk than any other a part of the state, but the regulatory companies accountable for defending us proceed to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez stated.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its evaluation didn't measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and doesn't reflect the precise levels of benzene throughout the communities.

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