The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Chevron's request to produce fuel from discarded plastics in Pascagoula, Mississippi, as part of a climate-friendly initiative to reduce dependence on petroleum.

However, according to records obtained by ProPublica and the Guardian, the production of just one of the fuels could emit air pollution so toxic that one in four people exposed to it over a lifetime could get cancer. This risk is 250,000 times higher than the level usually considered acceptable by the EPA, and the cancer burden will fall disproportionately on low-income and Black populations that live within three miles of the refinery, Futurism reports.

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The EPA has recently approved Chevron's proposal to produce fuel from discarded plastics in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

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, Greenmatters reports. Doa said 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 EPA. She stated that the EPA should not allow these risks in Pascagoula or anywhere else.

“That kind of risk is obscene,” said Linda Birnbaum, former head of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “You can’t let that get out.”

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Air pollution from refineries can cause serious health problems, such as asthma, cancer, and heart disease.

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. 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 them.

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 crisis.

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Living near refineries can lead to long-term exposure to harmful pollutants, increasing the risk of illness and disease.

The program granted approval for novel fuels derived from plant materials, but it also authorized fuels made from plastics, despite being petroleum-based and contributing to the emission of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

The EPA will not reveal information about the waste-based fuels, not even their names or chemical structures. Without those basic details, it is nearly impossible to determine which of the thousands of consent orders on the EPA website apply to this program. The agency cited a legal provision that allows companies to claim as confidential any information that would give their competitors an advantage in the marketplace.

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Refineries emit hazardous chemicals, including benzene and sulfur dioxide, that can harm the environment and human health.

According to an EPA document, The fuels that Chevron plans to make at its Pascagoula refinery present serious health risks, including developmental problems in children and cancer and harm to the nervous system, reproductive system, liver, kidneys, blood, and spleen. One of the Chevron fuels ushered in through the program is expected to cause cancer in 1.2 of 10,000 people, a rate far higher than the agency allows for the general population, The Defender reports.

The unit responsible for assessing new chemicals at the EPA usually restricts the risk of cancer from a solitary airborne contaminant to one instance per million individuals. A risk assessment from the agency determined that the air pollution originating from one of the fuels would result in 7.1 occurrences of cancer per 1,000 employees, exceeding the acceptable level for workers by over 70 times, as defined by the EPA's new chemicals division.

In addition to the chemicals released through the creation of fuels from plastics, people living near the Chevron refinery are exposed to other cancer-causing pollutants, ProPublica reports. A 2021 ProPublica report mapped excess cancer risk from lifetime exposure to air pollution across the US and found that the greatest risk was one cancer case per 53 people, in Port Arthur, Texas, where the Port Arthur Refinery produces conventional gasoline, commercial aviation fuel, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel, Export (High Cetane) Diesel and Texas Low Emissions Diesel.

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Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately affected by refinery pollution.

Chevron has refuted a statement by The Guardian and ProPublica regarding its Pascagoula refinery, saying that it is incorrect to claim that the refinery smoke-stack emissions present a one-in-four cancer risk. However, the document signed by a Chevron manager shows the lifetime cancer risk from inhaling smokestack air as 2.5 cancers per 10 people, equal to one in four.

Scott Throwe, an air pollution specialist who worked at the EPA for 30 years, told The Guardian and ProPublica that existing testing and monitoring requirements for refineries cannot capture the pollution from the new plastic-based fuels. There is a chance that equipment designed to limit the release of other pollutants may incidentally capture some of the emissions from the new fuels, but there’s no way to know whether that is happening.

Chevron's written statement meanwhile states that plastics are an essential part of modern life and should not end up in unintended places in the environment.

"We are taking steps to address plastic waste and support a circular economy in which post-use plastic is recycled, reused or repurposed," reads Chevron's statement.

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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.

Chevron has denied the claim that the smoke-stack emissions from its Pascagoula refinery pose a one-in-four cancer risk, but environmentalists remain concerned. Existing testing and monitoring requirements for refineries are not sufficient to capture the pollution from plastic-based fuels. Chevron claims to be taking steps to address plastic waste and support a circular economy, but critics have accused it of greenwashing, without putting forth an effort to reduce health and environmental risks.

The recent approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Chevron's request to produce fuel from discarded plastics in Mississippi puts many Americans at risk, The Guardian reports. While the program aims to reduce dependence on petroleum, the fuel production facilities around Pascagoula, Mississippi are already emitting toxic air pollution that is making nearby residents sick, according to ProPublica.

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The decision by the EPA to approve fuels made from plastics, despite being petroleum-based and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, puts people's health at risk. Further, the EPA did not mandate laboratory testing for these fuels or implement measures such as air monitoring or controls that would decrease the emission of cancer-causing pollutants or limit people's contact with them. Clearly, more Americans may be put at serious risk of cancer if companies are allowed to produce fuels without proper testing and regulations.

The EPA must develop methods to mitigate risks and implement measures such as air monitoring or controls that would decrease the emission of cancer-causing pollutants. It is crucial to take action and demand the EPA to prioritize the health of American citizens by signing petitions and holding the agency accountable.

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We need the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect public health by updating its chemical approval process, especially when it comes to new fuels. Take action and sign the petition!

We need to ensure that the EPA is transparent about the chemicals it approves and follows the law in preventing serious risks to health or the environment. Sign the petition and call on the EPA to consider the environmental impact of the new fuels it has approved, and prioritize the well-being of citizens over companies' interests.