Houston benzene levels increase - city

10 March 2008 23:04  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A recent analysis of Houston benzene emissions showed that they have increased, a city official said on Monday.

The analysis illustrates the need for a plan to reduce benzene emissions, said Elena Marks, director of health and environmental policy for the city of Houston.

For the analysis, the city used data collected from 13 air monitors, she said.

The city then took the average of the data from a six-month block from May through October, Marks said.

It compared the average with another period, which lasted from November through February, she said.

The city could make such intra-year comparisons because benzene emissions are not seasonal, Marks said.

The analysis showed that mean benzene levels worsened during the four-month period, she said.

A state trade group, the Texas Chemical Council, said it could not comment on the city's analysis because it has not seen the data. However, the council said that a year-to-year comparison would produce more accurate results.

Data from state regulators show that 2007 benzene levels for the Houston area had dropped 52% when compared with 2005, said Dan McGowan, council spokesman. Figures for 2006 were not immediately available on Monday.

"We're an industry that strives to improve environmental quality every day," McGowan said. "We are going to continue to do so."

The chemical industry has already done much to reduce emissions by investing in detection hardware, improving processes and upgrading process gas compressors, McGowan said.

The emissions detected by the monitors may have come from automobiles, boats and other vehicles, McGowan said. He quoted figures from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which show that 80% of benzene emissions come from mobile sources.

"We want the city to recognise all that the industry has done to reduce its environmental footprint," he said. "We want to work with the city. "

The city's analysis came more than a year after it proposed a plan to reduce benzene emissions, Marks said. It later established a task force to discuss plans to reduce emissions.

Houston Mayor Bill White had earlier proposed a nuisance ordinance that would address benzene emissions. However, the proposal was later dropped.

Regardless, the city and the chemical industry have not agreed on a plan to reduce emissions, she said.

Marks said the city's analysis will help highlight the need for some regulatory oversight of benzene emissions, be it from the state or from the federal government.

"Our goal is to call attention, until we see that there is significant progress," she said.

By: Al Greenwood
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