5 Texas refineries polluted above federal limit on cancer-causing benzene last year, report found

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Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay refinery had the highest average benzene levels in the nation last year, with emissions that were more than double the federal limit. 📝: TexasTribune

benzene as a human carcinogen, and long-term exposure to benzene emissions has caused blood disorders. There is some evidence that benzene exposure is associated with damage to reproductive organs and fetuses.

The data shows that some refineries have seen benzene pollution get worse over time. Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City had the highest average benzene levels in the nation last year, with emissions that were more than double the federal limit. The refinery's average benzene concentrations have steadily increased every year since 2018, when the EPA began collecting data.

The EPA rule requires facilities to collect air samples at the fenceline of their refineries every two weeks, and the highest benzene concentrations from each of the 26 two-week periods in a year are averaged for a rolling annual metric. If that average exceeds 9 micrograms per cubic meter for two consecutive quarters, the EPA requires the facilities to submit a plan to reduce emissions.

Community and environmental advocates in Texas said that the data shows again how fenceline neighborhoods - most often communities of color due to the legacy of racial segregation - bear the brunt of cancer-causing emissions from the oil and gas industry. that communities located near the fenceline of refineries have low-income and minority populations at nearly twice the rate of the general U.S. population..

 

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dominique_511 TexasTribune Is this why there is no water in Lake Mead?

TexasTribune Let’s close them all down then watch the cost of gasoline

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