[StBernard] Louisianans turn out for Texas hearing on oil refinery emissions

[Westley Annis]

not certain what you mean:  did you mean none of the Texas State legislatures present, and none of the EPA members mentioned how much the refineries are permitted to emit of carcinogens?
 
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I'm going to lay 8 to 5 that no one at this EPA meeting ever uttered the words "how much CANCER CAUSING chemicals can refineries commit."  Gee, do you think this article (i.e. biased opinion) could be trying to influence our thinking?  
That pretty much tells you the extent of their credibility.


According to L E AN (Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Ms. Wilma Subra), the Phillips 66 Alliance petroleum refinery in Belle Chase has the highest inventory of benzene emissions (from petroleum refineries in the State of Louisiana based on EPA’s 2012 TRI for benzene) with over 35,500 pounds benzene per year. The amounts for ExxonMobil Chalmette are 29,200 pounds annual and for Valero Energy Meraux 6,045 pounds annual.  And that is just benzene. 
 
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-garcia/communities-near-oil-refi_b_5662559.html?utm_hp_ref=latino-voices&ir=Latino+Voices
 
Port Arthur, comprised primarily of people of color, is located in an area where cancer rates are 15 percent <http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/09/04/2571871/port-arthur-keystone/>  higher among African Americans than they are for the average Texan. And mortality rates from cancer in Jefferson County where Port Arthur is situated are 40 percent <http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/09/04/2571871/port-arthur-keystone/>  higher, according to the Texas Cancer Registry. 
 
In Houston, Texas, the largely Latino neighborhood of Manchester is home to the Valero oil refinery and lymphocytic leukemia rates are 56 percent higher for children. This issue is not limited to these communities alone.