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Houston Regional Benzene Air Pollution Reduction: A Voluntary Plan for Major Sources

Every day, millions of tons of inadequately treated sewage and industrial and agricultural wastes are poured into the world’s waters. Every year, lakes, rivers, and deltas take in the equivalent of the weight of the entire human population– nearly seven billion people – in the form of pollution. Every year, more people die from the consequences of unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. And, every year, water contamination of natural ecosystems affects humans directly by destroying fisheries or causing other impacts on biodiversity that affect food production. In the end, most polluted freshwater ends up in the. | Houston Regional Benzene Air Pollution Reduction A Voluntary Plan for Major Sources Report prepared by City of Houston Mayor s Office of Environmental Programming Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Air Quality Control February 2007 900 Bagby 3rd Floor 713 -437-6961 1 Houston Regional Benzene Air Pollution Reduction Plan for Major Sources Overview of the Plan Objective Benzene is a hazardous air pollutant that causes cancer. In the majority of the Houston region ambient air concentrations of benzene exceed the Environmental Protection Agency s EPA risk guidelines. In some parts of the region notably east Houston and east Harris County benzene concentrations also exceed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality s TCEQ guidelines. This plan will improve air quality in the region by reducing the ambient air concentrations of benzene over a five-year period. Background Improvement of air quality in our region protects the health of our population and stimulates economic development. Over the last two decades we have substantially reduced ground level ozone by identifying its causes and implementing strategies to control its precursors. Recently reports from the TCEQ 1 EPA 2 Houston Mayor Bill White s Health Effects of Air Pollution Task Force 3 and Rice University Houston Endowment Inc. 4 indicate that in the Houston area ambient air concentrations of benzene are too high and must be reduced. This plan focuses on industrial point sources because they are the largest individual sources of benzene in the Houston area and contribute significantly to the unacceptably high levels of benzene in east Houston and east Harris County. Mechanism The City of Houston and other cooperating governmental business health environmental and civic organizations will work with the largest emitters of benzene who are identified in this plan. These sources will reduce their benzene emissions through enhancements to their facilities and operational practices to be .