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

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

Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum stage for benzene, 5 were in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and one every in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a brand new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Venture revealed on Thursday.

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

The Environmental Safety Agency estimates 6.1 million folks within the US reside within three miles of a refinery, with low-income people and people of color represented at charges almost twice that of the overall population.

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

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

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

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

Lifetime publicity to benzene at levels as little as 0.13 microgram per cubic meter may trigger a risk of as much as one further cancer case for each one million uncovered, in accordance with the EPA. The upper the level of benzene, the higher the well being danger.

Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas Metropolis had the very best average internet benzene ranges in 2021, in response to the evaluation of the self-reported information. Roughly 37,000 folks dwell within a three-mile radius of the refinery. Amongst them, 62% are people of shade and 47% are low-income.

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

“Folks living close to these facilities have larger [exposure] to lifetime most cancers risk than some other a part of the state, but the regulatory companies responsible for protecting us continue to approve permits for these facilities,” Gutierrez mentioned.

Environmental Integrity Venture notes that its analysis did not measure concentrations of benzene within neighborhoods adjoining to refineries, and doesn't mirror the actual ranges of benzene throughout the communities.

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