U.S. Refiners Emitting More Carcinogens, Group Says (Update1)
By Tina Seeley
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. oil refineries discharged 2 percent more carcinogens into the air from 2004 to 2006, and emissions levels are likely greater than current reports indicate, an environmental organization said.
``Petroleum refineries are a major source of air pollution and it's disturbing to see so little progress made in reducing emissions of carcinogens,'' Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said today in a statement. ``Also, the evidence continues to mount that this toxic pollution is grossly underestimated or not reported at all.''
The report by Washington D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project found oil refiners produced more than a third of total U.S. emissions of chemicals that the government designates as carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic. The group based its report on data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan EIP also said refineries may be under-reporting emissions levels for formaldehyde, a chemical used in building materials that has been shown to cause cancer in animals, and that the EPA could be ``drastically'' undercounting other emissions because of faulty calculations.
``I'd expect nothing less than attacks against American businesses from politically motivated groups like this, particularly during an election cycle,'' Bill Holbrook, spokesman for the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, said in an e-mail.
The emissions levels reported are ``permitted releases that have a pre-determined level that does not pose an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment,'' he said.
Overall emissions of hazardous air pollutants from refineries, which includes carcinogens and other harmful pollutants, are down 9 percent in the same time period, the report found.
``These kinds of reports help perpetuate a false impression that air quality overall is worsening,'' Holbrook said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tina Seeley in Washington at [email protected]
Last Updated: October 1, 2008 12:57 EDT
By Tina Seeley
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. oil refineries discharged 2 percent more carcinogens into the air from 2004 to 2006, and emissions levels are likely greater than current reports indicate, an environmental organization said.
``Petroleum refineries are a major source of air pollution and it's disturbing to see so little progress made in reducing emissions of carcinogens,'' Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said today in a statement. ``Also, the evidence continues to mount that this toxic pollution is grossly underestimated or not reported at all.''
The report by Washington D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project found oil refiners produced more than a third of total U.S. emissions of chemicals that the government designates as carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic. The group based its report on data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan EIP also said refineries may be under-reporting emissions levels for formaldehyde, a chemical used in building materials that has been shown to cause cancer in animals, and that the EPA could be ``drastically'' undercounting other emissions because of faulty calculations.
``I'd expect nothing less than attacks against American businesses from politically motivated groups like this, particularly during an election cycle,'' Bill Holbrook, spokesman for the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, said in an e-mail.
The emissions levels reported are ``permitted releases that have a pre-determined level that does not pose an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment,'' he said.
Overall emissions of hazardous air pollutants from refineries, which includes carcinogens and other harmful pollutants, are down 9 percent in the same time period, the report found.
``These kinds of reports help perpetuate a false impression that air quality overall is worsening,'' Holbrook said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tina Seeley in Washington at [email protected]
Last Updated: October 1, 2008 12:57 EDT
