Washington, U.S.A. — “Accidents” and other non-routine events at Texas oil and gas facilities, refineries and petrochemical plants released almost 100,000 tons of pollution from 2009-2011, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) based on data gathered from a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) database.

Separately, EIP today indicated that it will pursue litigation, if necessary, in the wake of two notice of intent (NOI) filings the organization made with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) related to major pollution issues at U.S. refineries.

During the three-year time period covered in the Texas study, the non-routine emission events at chemical plants, refineries, and natural gas operations released a combined total of more than 42,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and just over 50,000 tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These so-called  ”emission event” pollutants are in addition to the emissions released year-round during so-called “normal operations,” and are usually not included in the data the government uses to establish regulations or evaluate public health impacts.

Natural gas operations — which include well heads, pipelines, compressors, boosters, and storage systems — accounted for more than 85 percent of total sulfur dioxide and nearly 80 percent of the VOCs released during these episodes.  Both pollutants are linked to asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, and can form fine particles that contribute to premature death from heart disease.

EIP Director Eric Schaeffer said: “Too many of these ‘accidents’ are the norm at some natural gas and chemical plants.  These upsets can dump a lot of pollution in a few short hours, and some of them continue releasing benzene and other toxins for weeks.  Many of these breakdowns – and the pollution that comes with them – could be prevented by upgrading pollution controls, improving maintenance, and recapturing and reusing gas instead of releasing it to the environment as pollution.  The US EPA needs to crack down on polluters who seem to think that these events – no matter how many or how severe – somehow excuse them from the Clean Air Act.”

Matt Tejada, executive director, Air Alliance, Houston, said: “Texans living in our state’s many fenceline communities have, for far too long, been regularly exposed to pollutants from accidental releases that should never be allowed into the air.  And the number of Texans whose health is negatively impacted by such damaging pollution is increasing with the growth of gas extraction and processing operations.  Texas needs EPA to get serious about eliminating these accidental releases.”

Hilton Kelley, executive director of Communities In-power and Development, Port Arthur, said: “The Environmental Protection Agency must do a better job of counting the toxic pollution dumped into low-income and minority communities.  We must stop the onslaught of this toxic pollution that is causing liver disease, heart disease, and cancer in the communities I advocate for.”

Juan Parras, founder, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, Houston: “I am a firm believer and advocate for clean air, however, I live in an environment where ‘clean’ is dictated by petrochemical, gas plants, and oil refineries in the Houston Region.  They decide what they can get away with and blame their highly toxic emissions on ‘accidents’ that they claim are beyond their control.  OOPS!  The EPA needs to comply with its mandate, and that is to protect our environment and public health as it relates to toxins in the air, water, and soil.”

The five Texas facilities in the petrochemical, oil and gas, and refining sectors reporting the most SO2 from “emission events” between 2009 and 2011 are:

• Keystone Gas Plan, Kermit, Winkler County, 11,076 tons.
• Valero Port Arthur Refinery, Port Arthur, Jefferson County, 2,569 tons.
• Goldsmith Gas Plan, Goldsmith, Ector County, 2,171 tons.
• Mallet CO2 Recovery Plant Sundown, Hockley County, 1,730 tons.
• Slaughter Gasoline Company, Sundown, Hockley County, 1,538.

The five Texas facilities in the petrochemical, oil and gas, and refining sectors, reporting the most VOCs from “emission events” between 2009 and 2011 are:

• Magellan Pipeline Company LP Pipeline, Galveston, Galveston County, 15,975 tons.
• Exxon Mobil Beaumont Refinery, Beaumont, Jefferson County, 3,565 tons.
• El Mar 12, Mentone, Loving County, 1,825 tons.
• Boyd Compressor Station, Big Lake, Regan County, 1,176 tons.
• Falcon Refinery, Ingleside, San Patricio County,1,051 tons.

Every year, refineries, chemical plants, and natural gas facilities release thousands of tons of air pollution when production units break down, or are shut off, restarted or repaired. Most of these “emission events” release pollution through flares, or from leaking pipelines, tanks, or other production equipment.

The Clean Air Act makes polluters strictly liable for their mistakes, but loopholes in regulations either excuse violations that result from malfunctions altogether, or allow polluters to escape penalties by claiming that such mishaps are beyond the control of plant operators. As a result, federal or state agencies rarely even investigate these events, much less take enforcement action. EPA’s current standards are so relaxed that even the most serious violations are excused, inviting plant operators to defer improvements that could make plants safer — and sometimes even turn a profit.

About the data

Texas facilities have been required to submit online reports estimating emissions caused by upsets, maintenance, start-up and shutdown activities since 2003, along with an explanation of what caused the events. The data in the EIP report obtained from TCEQ’s Emissions Event database. The industry classifications were determined using the facility’s SIC or NAICS code, as reported to the TCEQ central registry and EPA’s Facility Registration System. When industry classification information was unavailable, the data was supplemented using other information on TCEQ’s central registry.

About EIP

The Environmental Integrity Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established in March of 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys to advocate for effective enforcement of environmental laws. EIP has three goals: (1) to provide objective analyses of how the failure to enforce or implement environmental laws increases pollution and affects public health; (2) to hold federal and state agencies, as well as individual corporations, accountable for failing to enforce or comply with environmental laws; and (3) to help local communities obtain the protection of environmental laws.

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Texas, U.S.A - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relied on four highly questionable assumptions in 2009 to drastically inflate the health benefits from far-reaching new rules, according to a new report published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

“For the last three years, the EPA has justified a series of strict and incredibly expensive new air quality regulations on the assumption that even trace levels of particulate matter can accelerate death,” said the report’s author, Kathleen Hartnett White. “But the science behind the EPA’s new approach to assessing health risks is deeply flawed and misleads the public.”

Since 2009, the EPA has attributed risk of “early death” or shortened lifespan from fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) concentrations far below the health protective national standards and even below natural levels that would occur absent human activity. The EPA is justifying the many unprecedented new regulations commonly known as the EPA train wreck on the basis of the health benefits gained from reducing these new risks from already low levels of particulate matter – a substantial portion of which is airborne dust.

The new regulations, however, target other pollutants and not PM 2.5. In the recently finalized rule to reduce mercury emission from power plants, EPA estimated 99.9% of the health benefits derive from coincidental reduction of particulate matter at levels far below the already conservative federal standard. Without this methodology, the cost of reducing mercury would be far higher than the benefits of further reduction of mercury.

In the report, White challenged four key assumptions at the root of the EPA’s new risk-assessment methodology:

• PM 2.5 causes early death.
• There is no level of PM 2.5 below which risks of premature death cease.
• The EPA’s new rules are necessary to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths.
• Coincidental reduction of PM 2.5 is sufficient justification for new regulations designed to control other pollutants.

“The EPA’s manipulation of cost-benefit analyses to project massive benefits at comparatively modest cost denies policy­makers and the public the information needed to weigh the many trade-offs involved in complex societal decisions about unacceptable risks,” White said. “Economic impact does matter, and it matters to human health. Life span and health are strongly correlated with the opportunity to work and make a good income.”

The report recommends amendment of the Clean Air Act to establish minimal criteria for rigorous scientific risk assessment of health effects.

The report, “EPA’s Pretense of Science: Regulating Phantom Risks,” is available for download from the Foundation’s website.

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The American Lung Association applauds the Obama Administration for adopting public health safeguards to reduce mercury and toxic air pollution from power plants.  The new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants are long overdue and will reduce the harm from air pollution like mercury, lead, arsenic, and a host of other pollutants.

“Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health,” said Albert A. Rizzo, M.D., National Volunteer Chair of the American Lung Association, and pulmonary and critical care physician in Newark, Delaware.

“The Lung Association expects all oil and coal-fired power plants to act now to protect all Americans, especially our children, from the health risks imposed by these dangerous air pollutants.”

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants that are found in more than 40 U.S. states and are the largest producers of mercury pollution. Air pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants contains 84 of the 187 hazardous pollutants identified for control by the Clean Air Act.

Many of these pollutants, such as, dioxins, arsenic, and lead, can cause cancer and cardiovascular disease; harm the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system; and even kill. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce these pollutants and prevent 130,000 childhood asthma attacks and 11,000 premature deaths each year.

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required the tighter standards on power plants in an effort to reduce toxic emissions in communities across the country. However, big polluters have fought for and won delays for more than 21 years.

“Attempts to delay or dismantle the Clean Air Act, or rules like the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, reward industry polluters and punish those most vulnerable to dirty air,” said Dr. Rizzo. “These new standards mark a huge step forward in clean air protections and will be responsible for saving thousands of lives each year.”

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