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Tell the EPA to Prohibit Air Emissions that Leave Americans Sick
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High pollution levels from large fuel facilities are causing serious health risks for Americans. Call on the EPA to protect public health by updating its chemical approval process!
The EPA has recently approved Chevron’s proposal to produce fuel from discarded plastics in Pascagoula, Mississippi1, with the intention of reducing our reliance on petroleum, but records obtained by ProPublica and the Guardian show that one of the fuels could emit air pollution so toxic that one in four people exposed to it over a lifetime could get cancer2. This is 250,000 times higher than the level considered acceptable by the EPA, and it’s terrible news for low-income and underrepresented populations that live within three miles of the refinery3.
Maria Doa, a scientist who worked at the EPA for 30 years, reviewed the risk document and was so alarmed by the cancer threat that she initially thought it was a typographical error. She stated that she had never seen a chemical with such a high cancer risk being released into a community without restrictions in her three decades at the EPA4.
One of the Chevron fuels that will be created at its Pascagoula refinery is expected to cause cancer in 1.2 of 10,000 people, a rate far higher than the agency allows for the general population5. This is a serious health risk that we cannot ignore, and it’s also predicted to cause developmental problems in children and harm to the nervous system, reproductive system, liver, kidneys, blood, and spleen6.
It’s not just the chemicals released through the creation of fuels from plastics that are causing problems, but people living near the Chevron refinery are also exposed to other cancer-causing pollutants. In fact, a 2021 ProPublica report mapped excess cancer risk in nearly every community in the United States, and it showed that Pascagoula has some of the highest cancer risks in the country7.
The EPA is prohibited by federal law from approving new chemicals that pose serious risks to health or the environment unless it develops methods to mitigate those risks, according to the EPA website. However, in this instance, the agency did not mandate laboratory testing or implement measures such as air monitoring or controls that would decrease the emission of cancer-causing pollutants or limit people’s contact with them8.
The EPA declared a program in January 2022 aimed at expediting the approval of substitutes for petroleum as a component of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis9. While we support efforts to reduce our reliance on petroleum, we cannot accept the risks that come with it. The EPA authorized fuels made from plastics, despite being petroleum-based and contributing to the emission of greenhouse gases that cause global warming10.
The EPA won’t reveal any information about the waste-based fuels, not even their names or chemical structures, citing a legal provision that allows companies to claim as confidential any information that would give their competitors an advantage in the marketplace11. This is not acceptable. We need more transparency from the EPA, and a more honest focus on public health.
We need to protect low-income and underrepresented populations that live near the refinery, and we need to take action to protect ourselves and our planet. Help us tell the EPA to stop allowing these unacceptable risks. Sign the petition and tell the EPA to take a stand for Americans and our environment!