Houston-area chemical plants expected to curb emissions under new federal rules
GABRIEL C. PÉREZ / KUTGas is burned off from an oil well in West Texas.Chemical plants throughout the Houston area will now be expected to reduce air pollution emissions under new rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — an effort focused on reducing hazardous air pollutants in nearby communities. Under the EPA’s new policy, chemical plants throughout the U.S. will now be required to monitor and reduce the emission of cancer-causing chemicals, including chloroprene, which is used to make synthetic rubber in shoes, and ethylene oxide, which is used as a pesticide and a sterilizing agent. The EPA expects the new policy to reduce the spread of these two chemicals throughout neighboring communities by about 80%. Additionally, the rule will require plants to conduct fenceline monitoring — which is used to measure pollution in the air around the facility — if the plant uses, produces, stores or emits ethylene oxide, chloroprene, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene dichloride or vinyl chloride. The plants will also be required to plug leaks in storage tanks and improve the efficiency of flares used to burn materials that would otherwise be released into the community. Overall, the federal agency says the policy should keep more than 6,200 tons of hazardous pollutants out of the air annually and reduce the creation of more than 23,000 tons of smog-forming emissions each year. The EPA claims that these changes will result in a 96% reduction in the number of people living with elevated cancer risk in nearby communities. “It’s a very big deal,” said Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas. “It’s going to mean far cleaner air for all of Houston and far fewer people contracting cancer.” In total, the new federal will impact about 200 facilities across the country — most of which are located in Texas and Louisiana, along with facilities in Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio. This comes after the EPA tightened nationwide standards for fine particle air pollution back in February, forcing county leaders to lower soot levels throughout the region, which is home to a large number of refineries and other industrial facilities — some of which already struggled to maintain previous federal standards.
Under the EPA's new policy, several chemical plants in the Houston area will now be required to monitor and reduce the emission of cancer-causing chemicals.
GABRIEL C. PÉREZ / KUT
Chemical plants throughout the Houston area will now be expected to reduce air pollution emissions under new rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — an effort focused on reducing hazardous air pollutants in nearby communities.
Under the EPA’s new policy, chemical plants throughout the U.S. will now be required to monitor and reduce the emission of cancer-causing chemicals, including chloroprene, which is used to make synthetic rubber in shoes, and ethylene oxide, which is used as a pesticide and a sterilizing agent.
The EPA expects the new policy to reduce the spread of these two chemicals throughout neighboring communities by about 80%.
Additionally, the rule will require plants to conduct fenceline monitoring — which is used to measure pollution in the air around the facility — if the plant uses, produces, stores or emits ethylene oxide, chloroprene, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene dichloride or vinyl chloride.
The plants will also be required to plug leaks in storage tanks and improve the efficiency of flares used to burn materials that would otherwise be released into the community.
Overall, the federal agency says the policy should keep more than 6,200 tons of hazardous pollutants out of the air annually and reduce the creation of more than 23,000 tons of smog-forming emissions each year. The EPA claims that these changes will result in a 96% reduction in the number of people living with elevated cancer risk in nearby communities.
“It’s a very big deal,” said Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas. “It’s going to mean far cleaner air for all of Houston and far fewer people contracting cancer.”
In total, the new federal will impact about 200 facilities across the country — most of which are located in Texas and Louisiana, along with facilities in Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio.
This comes after the EPA tightened nationwide standards for fine particle air pollution back in February, forcing county leaders to lower soot levels throughout the region, which is home to a large number of refineries and other industrial facilities — some of which already struggled to maintain previous federal standards.