Refineries and petrochemical plants in south Texas released nearly 1 million pounds of seven especially dangerous air pollutants during flaring and chemical spills triggered by Hurricane Harvey, according to a new Center for Biological Diversity analysis of industry data.
Refineries and petrochemical plants in south Texas released nearly 1 million pounds of seven especially dangerous air pollutants during flaring and chemical spills triggered by Hurricane Harvey, according to a new Center for Biological Diversity analysis of industry data.
Staggering amounts of benzene, 1,3-butadiene, hexane, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, toluene and xylene — estimated at 951,000 pounds so far — were emitted during Harvey-related flooding by several dozen petroleum industry facilities operated by Chevron Phillips, Exxon Mobil, Shell and other companies. These seven chemicals are all toxic air pollutants documented to cause serious harms to human health, and several cause cancer.
“Oil-industry facilities spewed thousands of tons of toxic chemicals into defenseless communities, despite ample warning about hurricane risk to this area,” said Shaye Wolf, the Center scientist who compiled the analysis. “Dangerous flaring from coastal refineries has become routine during major storms. The petroleum industry seems utterly unwilling to take responsibility for operating safely, even as climate change makes storms like Harvey more destructive.”
Read more at Center for Biological Diversity
Photo credit: U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Zachary West via Wikimedia Commons
