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Saturday, May 14, 2022

benzene exposure

 Louisiana refineries measured excessively high levels of cancer-causing chemical in 2021

Mark Schleifstein   
Nola.com The New Orleans Advocate

https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_abc6493a-d230-11ec-b70b-33d4441c4873.html
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Valero’s St. Charles refinery was ranked fourth on the list of 12 highest emitters, with 14.1 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021. And at least one fenceline monitor measured a two-week average concentration greater than 29 micrograms per cubic meter, the level considered acute. But more problematic was an average reading of 300 micrograms per cubic meter during the two-week monitoring period that ended on Sept. 6, 2021, which was after Hurricane Ida disrupted the plant’s operations.


“That’s very close to the level where the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says you should be wearing respirators,” Schaeffer said. “And that’s the kind of exposure information that needs to get out quickly. The requirement to fix these kinds of problems should apply not just to the long-term averages, but to this kind of short-term spike that can be very dangerous.”

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