NESHAP comes to Houston
The Environmental Protection Agency is coming to a neighborhood near the Houston Ship Channel to hold a hearing on how petrochemical refineries are doing regarding the National Environmental Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants. It’s a chance for your voice to be heard on this important health and environmental issue.
Hazardous air pollutants, or air toxics, are pollutants known or suspected of causing cancer or other serious health problems. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 required the EPA to regulate emissions of 189 listed hazardous air pollutants. Petroleum refineries have been identified by the EPA as a major source of these emissions.
The refineries along the Houston Ship Channel are responsible for about two-thirds of the country’s petrochemical production and about one-third of the world’s production.
People living in the Houston-Galveston area, especially those living near the refineries, have an increased risk of cancer and other serious health effects. A 2004 Houston Chronicle study found that high levels of toxic pollution in Southeast Houston is associated with cancer, liver and kidney damage in nearby neighborhoods. A more recent study, by the University of Texas School of Public Health found that children living within two miles of the Houston Ship Channel had a 56 percent greater chance of developing lymphocytic leukemia than children who live farther away.
The only opportunity in the entire country to speak out about how petroleum refineries are doing regarding Hazardous Air Pollutants is from 9 A.M to 9 P.M., Tuesday, November 27, in the Hartman Community Center of the Manchester Neighborhood in Houston.