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

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

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

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

The Environmental Safety Company estimates 6.1 million people in the US dwell within three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and people of coloration represented at rates almost twice that of the overall population.

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

Practically half of those 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 services to take motion in the event that they exceed a mean 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “action level” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene beneath the motion stage, yr after year, we really must see enforcement from the EPA,” stated Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Challenge, in a press convention. “It's essential start paying penalties when your fence-line ranges persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at ranges as low as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter may cause a danger of up to one further cancer case for every a million uncovered, in accordance with the EPA. The upper the extent of benzene, the upper the health threat.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the best average net benzene ranges in 2021, based on the evaluation of the self-reported data. Roughly 37,000 individuals reside within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Among them, 62% are folks of color and 47% are low-income.

“This evaluation offers necessary perception into why the Houston area is an industrial most cancers hotspot,” mentioned Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, on the press convention.

“People residing close to these facilities have better [exposure] to lifetime cancer threat than another a part of the state, yet the regulatory agencies responsible for defending us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez said.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its evaluation did not measure concentrations of benzene inside neighborhoods adjacent to refineries, and does not reflect the precise ranges of benzene within the communities.

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