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

A dozen US oil refineries final yr exceeded the federal limit on average benzene emissions.

Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum level for benzene, five had been in Texas, four in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Undertaking revealed on Thursday.

Benzene is a known carcinogen that's extremely poisonous and risky when exposed to air. A lot of the surplus emissions come through leaks from valves, tanks, pumps and other means which can be arduous to detect.

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

Out of 129 operable oil refineries in 2021, 118 reported benzene concentration registered at or near the positioning, in any other case referred to as the fence-line.

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

The EPA requires facilities to take motion if they exceed an average 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or above “motion degree” emission of benzene.

“If [facilities] can’t get their benzene under the motion degree, yr after 12 months, we actually must see enforcement from the EPA,” mentioned Eric Schaeffer, the chief director of the Environmental Integrity Challenge, in a press conference. “You'll want to begin paying penalties when your fence-line levels persist,” he added.

Lifetime exposure to benzene at ranges as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter could trigger a threat of up to one additional cancer case for each a million uncovered, in accordance with the EPA. The higher the extent of benzene, the higher the well being threat.

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

“This evaluation offers important insight into why the Houston space is an industrial cancer hotspot,” stated Leticia Gutierrez of advocacy group Air Alliance Houston, at the press conference.

“Folks dwelling close to these facilities have higher [exposure] to lifetime cancer risk than another a part of the state, yet the regulatory companies chargeable for protecting us continue to approve permits for these amenities,” Gutierrez mentioned.

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

Marathon Petroleum and the EPA did not instantly respond to a request for remark.