Benzene Leukemia Law Blog : Benzene and Leukemia Lawyer & Attorney : Burke & Eisner Law Firm : Benzene Exposure, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

Yesterday's press release from the Environmental Protection Agency is a promising indicator that the EPA getting work done in ways unheard of during the long years of the Bush/Cheney era:

WASHINGTON – EPA has released the latest version of a state-of-the-science tool that estimates health risks from breathing air toxics in the United States. The National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA), based on 2002 air emissions data, helps federal, state, local and tribal governments identify areas and specific pollutants for further evaluation to better understand risks they may pose.

Air toxics are of concern because they are known to or are suspected of causing cancer and other serious health problems, including birth defects. The report assessed 180 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter from stationary sources of all sizes and from mobile sources such as cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment. 



The 2002 NATA estimates that most people in the United States have an average cancer risk of 36 in 1 million if exposed to 2002 emissions levels over the course of their lifetime. In addition, 2 million people—less than one percent of the total U.S. population—have an increased cancer risk of greater than 100 in 1 million. Benzene was the largest contributor to the increased cancer risks.
[emphasis mine] NATA provides broad estimates of risk over geographic areas of the country and not definitive risks to specific individuals. The results are best used to prioritize pollutants and areas for further study, not as the sole basis for regulation or risk reduction activities. 

Since the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, air toxic emissions have decreased by 40 percent from all sources. NATA can be used to help all levels of government target further reductions in air toxics emissions.



This assessment further demonstrates the fact that when we pollute the environment, especially the air, we are also polluting our selves. The future challenge will be keeping our productivity up while eliminating the airborne emission of known carcinogens like benzene. 

More information on NATA: www.epa.gov/nata2002

Information on air toxics: www.epa.gov/oar/toxicair/newtoxics.html

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BP Products North America agreed yesterday to pay more than three quarters of a million dollars for violations of  the Emergency Planning and Right-to-Know Act, EPCRA, at it's Texas City refinery, the largest in the nation.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, BP will pay the US government a $420,662 civil penalty, and spend $365,000 on supplemental environmental projects in Texas City.

At issue is the company's noncompliance with EPCRA toxic chemical reporting requirements.   

• BP Failed to complete and submit toxic chemical release information to the EPA and state of Texas from 2002-2005.
• BP Failed to maintain any reporting records in 2004.

The list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting  requirements is long and includes:

• benzene
• dioxin and dioxin like compounds
• formaldehyde
• lead compounds
• methanol 

These new fines come in the wake the February 19 announcement of a  $161 million settlement  for the company's noncompliance with a 2001 Clean Air Act regulation placing strict controls on benzene and benzene containing wastes generated during petroleum refining.

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In a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency, BP Products North America has agreed to implement measures that will reduce benzene emissions at its Texas City refinery. The settlement will benefit those living in and around the area, who have suffered potentially harmful benzene exposure.

Exposure to benzene causes a variety of health problems including cancer (acute myelogenous leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in particular), immune system suppression, and reproductive damage, among other things.

According to a press release by the EPA, BP will spend more than $161 million to control pollution generated during its petroleum refining processes. The money will go toward equipment upgrades, as well as improved monitoring and maintenance.

The EPA estimates that these actions will reduce emissions of benzene and other toxic chemicals by as much as 6,000 pounds a year.

 

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South Carolina may face sanctions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency if it doesn’t come up with the money necessary to clean up some 3,000 sites contaminated with benzene and other dangerous chemicals.  

The chemicals are leaking from underground fuel tanks and polluting nearby groundwater. Contamination caused by the leaks is not only affecting property values, but also raising health concerns among residents.

Benzene and cancers such as leukemia have long been linked, and testing has revealed that the toxic chemical has tainted wells in some of the state’s rural neighborhoods.

Officials at the Department of Health and Environmental Control have known about the contamination caused by leaks for years, but the agency has only made two requests in more than a decade for clean up money.



 

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According to recent reports, students in Wicomico County, Maryland, are more likely to be exposed to benzene toxins when they’re outside than their fellow classmates in the Lower Shore counties.

The findings were revealed in a recent eight-month USA Today analysis of Environmental Protection Agency pollution that found several areas through the U.S. where toxic chemicals in the air were at troubling levels. Although most schools within Wicomico County had a better than the national average when tested, many of them were found to have dangerously low air quality levels.

Researchers Test for Benzene

The study was conducted by setting up monitoring devices at 95 schools within 30 states in America. Researchers from John Hopkins University and the University of Maryland analyzed several samples from these monitoring devices. This way, there were able to see how pollution levels could make people ill or even increase their risk of various cancers.

The study revealed that the air quality in Beaver Run was volatile and the EPA was able to determine that the people within this community, in particular the children attending the schools directly affected by the poor air and water quality, were extremely risky.

Beaver Run is a school with about 570 children ranging to pre-kindergarten to the second grade. And it was here that scientists found the benzene levels to be extremely risky. The experts who were in charge of the monitoring referred to the levels as being “significant” and they intend on conducting further investigations and taking action to ensure the safety of these children.


 

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A wastewater treatment company in Shreveport, Louisiana, is currently being investigated due to recent findings that benzene and other toxic chemicals from the plant were being dumped into the Red River. The facility was reportedly shut down in October 2007 after the river was found to be polluted. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality conducted several tests on the water and publicly revealed that hazardous waste from the plant was being disposed of in the river.

Among the toxins that were found to be polluting the river were benzene, toluene and xylene. Each of these chemicals can be extremely dangerous to those exposed and have been linked to various forms of cancer, including leukemia, lung cancer and aplastic anemia.

Ongoing Waste Problems

Despite the legal troubles the waste facility, known as CCS, is facing they are reportedly still seeking permission to discharge wastewater and storm water into areas where they would eventually find their way into the Red River.

Reports from a review of federal and state records related to CCS reveals:

• The illegal dumping of wastewater into Red River
• Four hidden tanks of hazardous waste that were supposedly identified by company officials as treated wastewater
• Concerns about accepting and treating wastewaters in early 2008

The findings of benzene are of most concern to health officials since the chemical is a known carcinogen and can cause fatal illnesses to those exposed over an extended period of time. Benzene can be found in gasoline, cigarettes and sodas.

 

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