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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Hoosiers call for tighter pollution control for BP's Lake Michigan refinery permit
The diesel-like smell sometimes rising off Lake Michigan near BP's oil refinery in Whiting gets so bad that surfer Mike Calabro and his girlfriend suffer headaches and need to get out of the water for relief. Growing up in Whiting, Calabro learned how to surf at the beach next to the refinery. He lives in Chicago now but still makes the 40-minute drive down to his old stomping grounds to hit the waves. Calabro is among a large group of environmental advocates saying Indiana regulators are failing their duty to protect the water quality of Lake Michigan by ignoring pollutants coming from BP's refinery and letting the company release excess mercury into the lake. Lake Michigan's ecosystems are threatened by the pollution coming from the refinery, the groups say, and the wildlife — including migratory birds and bald eagles nesting in the area — face toxic consequences. The groups are now calling for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to revise BP's application for its pollution discharge permit, known as an NPDES, which is renewed every five years. BP is in the process of renewing its five-year permit and is waiting for IDEM to issue the final permit detailing the parameters for each pollutant the refinery discharges. The company "is committed to safe and compliant operations at the Whiting Refinery and across our global operations," spokesperson Cesar Rodriquez wrote in an email to IndyStar. "We will continue working every day to keep this commitment and to ensure the refinery remains an important part of the Northwest Indiana economy for years to come." Rob Michaels, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center and part of the cohort wanting changes to the permit, said IDEM is obligated to protect water quality — and Lake Michigan in particular — but there are numerous ways the current permit fails to meet that objective. One of the biggest failures is the numerous pollutants IDEM should have previously limited in BP's discharges, Michaels said. The list of these chemicals the groups claim IDEM has ignored is long, but some of the more worrying pollutants include PFAS, known as forever chemicals, and BTEX, which are a group of chemicals found in the oil and gas industry. Both are found to be harmful to human health. One of the BTEX pollutants, benzene, is known to cause anemia and an increased risk of cancer, according to the U.S. EPA. Meg Parish, with the Environmental Integrity Project, said BTEX chemicals are 'really dangerous to people at very small levels.' 'EPA did a big study on oil refineries in 2019 and said these (chemicals) are something we should be concerned about and yet Indiana didn't even consider it,' Parish said. 'They ignored it completely.' IDEM spokesperson Barry Sneed told IndyStar the department will provide full responses to concerns about BP's permit when a final decision is made. 'If any potential permitting discrepancies are raised during the public comment period, IDEM will thoroughly evaluate and address them before making a final decision,' Sneed wrote in an email to IndyStar. One area of the permit the groups are adamant needs to be reevaluated is an exception to how much mercury BP is allowed to release. IDEM has issued the company what is known as a streamlined mercury variance for the past 12 years. This variance allows BP to release more mercury than the established safe water quality standard for Lake Michigan. The exception allows BP to discharge about five times more mercury than normally allowed. Susan Thomas, with Just Transition Northwest Indiana, called the mercury situation at BP 'egregious.' 'They've had years to remedy this situation, and they have not,' Thomas said. 'They have been given a pass all of these years by IDEM.' The group's comment letter sent to IDEM says BP has had since 2012 to come into compliance with the mercury standards for Lake Michigan to protect the ecosystem and human health but has instead 'avoided installing the treatment needed …' Calabro, the Lake Michigan surfer, is part of a group called SurfRider Foundation that helps protect coastal areas. Sarah Damron oversees many of the group's chapters in the Great Lakes. Surfers are often the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to coastal water pollution since they're out in the water and exposed to the contaminants, Damron said. The mercury variance is also one of the surfing group's main concerns. 'To just continue to allow a variance as opposed to strengthening the requirements over time so they are able to meet the standards set by the state is not in the best interest of public health and wellbeing,' Damron said. The outfalls where BP discharges its pollutants are close to the area where people like Calabro use the lake for recreation. People are fed up with the situation, Just Transition's Thomas said. 'How much more can the frontline communities take?' Thomas said. 'If you stand outside in Whiting, your throat can start to burn, your eyes tear up and you can get heart palpitations. These communities are called sacrifice zones are deserve extreme consideration.' IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at Follow him on BlueSky @ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: BP refinery in Indiana needs stricter pollution control, Hoosiers say
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- General
- Indianapolis Star
Hoosiers call for tighter pollution control for BP's Lake Michigan refinery permit
The diesel-like smell sometimes rising off Lake Michigan near BP's oil refinery in Whiting gets so bad that surfer Mike Calabro and his girlfriend suffer headaches and need to get out of the water for relief. Growing up in Whiting, Calabro learned how to surf at the beach next to the refinery. He lives in Chicago now but still makes the 40-minute drive down to his old stomping grounds to hit the waves. Calabro is among a large group of environmental advocates saying Indiana regulators are failing their duty to protect the water quality of Lake Michigan by ignoring pollutants coming from BP's refinery and letting the company release excess mercury into the lake. Lake Michigan's ecosystems are threatened by the pollution coming from the refinery, the groups say, and the wildlife — including migratory birds and bald eagles nesting in the area — face toxic consequences. The groups are now calling for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to revise BP's application for its pollution discharge permit, known as an NPDES, which is renewed every five years. BP is in the process of renewing its five-year permit and is waiting for IDEM to issue the final permit detailing the parameters for each pollutant the refinery discharges. The company "is committed to safe and compliant operations at the Whiting Refinery and across our global operations," spokesperson Cesar Rodriquez wrote in an email to IndyStar. "We will continue working every day to keep this commitment and to ensure the refinery remains an important part of the Northwest Indiana economy for years to come." Rob Michaels, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center and part of the cohort wanting changes to the permit, said IDEM is obligated to protect water quality — and Lake Michigan in particular — but there are numerous ways the current permit fails to meet that objective. One of the biggest failures is the numerous pollutants IDEM should have previously limited in BP's discharges, Michaels said. The list of these chemicals the groups claim IDEM has ignored is long, but some of the more worrying pollutants include PFAS, known as forever chemicals, and BTEX, which are a group of chemicals found in the oil and gas industry. Both are found to be harmful to human health. One of the BTEX pollutants, benzene, is known to cause anemia and an increased risk of cancer, according to the U.S. EPA. Meg Parish, with the Environmental Integrity Project, said BTEX chemicals are 'really dangerous to people at very small levels.' 'EPA did a big study on oil refineries in 2019 and said these (chemicals) are something we should be concerned about and yet Indiana didn't even consider it,' Parish said. 'They ignored it completely.' IDEM spokesperson Barry Sneed told IndyStar the department will provide full responses to concerns about BP's permit when a final decision is made. 'If any potential permitting discrepancies are raised during the public comment period, IDEM will thoroughly evaluate and address them before making a final decision,' Sneed wrote in an email to IndyStar. One area of the permit the groups are adamant needs to be reevaluated is an exception to how much mercury BP is allowed to release. IDEM has issued the company what is known as a streamlined mercury variance for the past 12 years. This variance allows BP to release more mercury than the established safe water quality standard for Lake Michigan. The exception allows BP to discharge about five times more mercury than normally allowed. Susan Thomas, with Just Transition Northwest Indiana, called the mercury situation at BP 'egregious.' 'They've had years to remedy this situation, and they have not,' Thomas said. 'They have been given a pass all of these years by IDEM.' The group's comment letter sent to IDEM says BP has had since 2012 to come into compliance with the mercury standards for Lake Michigan to protect the ecosystem and human health but has instead 'avoided installing the treatment needed …' Calabro, the Lake Michigan surfer, is part of a group called SurfRider Foundation that helps protect coastal areas. Sarah Damron oversees many of the group's chapters in the Great Lakes. Surfers are often the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to coastal water pollution since they're out in the water and exposed to the contaminants, Damron said. The mercury variance is also one of the surfing group's main concerns. 'To just continue to allow a variance as opposed to strengthening the requirements over time so they are able to meet the standards set by the state is not in the best interest of public health and wellbeing,' Damron said. The outfalls where BP discharges its pollutants are close to the area where people like Calabro use the lake for recreation. People are fed up with the situation, Just Transition's Thomas said. 'How much more can the frontline communities take?' Thomas said. 'If you stand outside in Whiting, your throat can start to burn, your eyes tear up and you can get heart palpitations. These communities are called sacrifice zones are deserve extreme consideration.' IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- General
- Indianapolis Star
Hoosiers call for tighter pollution control for BP's Lake Michigan refinery permit
The diesel-like smell sometimes rising off Lake Michigan near BP's oil refinery in Whiting gets so bad that surfer Mike Calabro and his girlfriend suffer headaches and need to get out of the water for relief. Growing up in Whiting, Calabro learned how to surf at the beach next to the refinery. He lives in Chicago now but still makes the 40-minute drive down to his old stomping grounds to hit the waves. Calabro is among a large group of environmental advocates saying Indiana regulators are failing their duty to protect the water quality of Lake Michigan by ignoring pollutants coming from BP's refinery and letting the company release excess mercury into the lake. Lake Michigan's ecosystems are threatened by the pollution coming from the refinery, the groups say, and the wildlife — including migratory birds and bald eagles nesting in the area — face toxic consequences. The groups are now calling for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to revise BP's application for its pollution discharge permit, known as an NPDES, which is renewed every five years. BP is in the process of renewing its five-year permit and is waiting for IDEM to issue the final permit detailing the parameters for each pollutant the refinery discharges. The company "is committed to safe and compliant operations at the Whiting Refinery and across our global operations," spokesperson Cesar Rodriquez wrote in an email to IndyStar. "We will continue working every day to keep this commitment and to ensure the refinery remains an important part of the Northwest Indiana economy for years to come." Rob Michaels, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center and part of the cohort wanting changes to the permit, said IDEM is obligated to protect water quality — and Lake Michigan in particular — but there are numerous ways the current permit fails to meet that objective. One of the biggest failures is the numerous pollutants IDEM should have previously limited in BP's discharges, Michaels said. The list of these chemicals the groups claim IDEM has ignored is long, but some of the more worrying pollutants include PFAS, known as forever chemicals, and BTEX, which are a group of chemicals found in the oil and gas industry. Both are found to be harmful to human health. One of the BTEX pollutants, benzene, is known to cause anemia and an increased risk of cancer, according to the U.S. EPA. Meg Parish, with the Environmental Integrity Project, said BTEX chemicals are 'really dangerous to people at very small levels.' 'EPA did a big study on oil refineries in 2019 and said these (chemicals) are something we should be concerned about and yet Indiana didn't even consider it,' Parish said. 'They ignored it completely.' IDEM spokesperson Barry Sneed told IndyStar the department will provide full responses to concerns about BP's permit when a final decision is made. 'If any potential permitting discrepancies are raised during the public comment period, IDEM will thoroughly evaluate and address them before making a final decision,' Sneed wrote in an email to IndyStar. One area of the permit the groups are adamant needs to be reevaluated is an exception to how much mercury BP is allowed to release. IDEM has issued the company what is known as a streamlined mercury variance for the past 12 years. This variance allows BP to release more mercury than the established safe water quality standard for Lake Michigan. The exception allows BP to discharge about five times more mercury than normally allowed. Susan Thomas, with Just Transition Northwest Indiana, called the mercury situation at BP 'egregious.' 'They've had years to remedy this situation, and they have not,' Thomas said. 'They have been given a pass all of these years by IDEM.' The group's comment letter sent to IDEM says BP has had since 2012 to come into compliance with the mercury standards for Lake Michigan to protect the ecosystem and human health but has instead 'avoided installing the treatment needed …' Calabro, the Lake Michigan surfer, is part of a group called SurfRider Foundation that helps protect coastal areas. Sarah Damron oversees many of the group's chapters in the Great Lakes. Surfers are often the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to coastal water pollution since they're out in the water and exposed to the contaminants, Damron said. The mercury variance is also one of the surfing group's main concerns. 'To just continue to allow a variance as opposed to strengthening the requirements over time so they are able to meet the standards set by the state is not in the best interest of public health and wellbeing,' Damron said. The outfalls where BP discharges its pollutants are close to the area where people like Calabro use the lake for recreation. People are fed up with the situation, Just Transition's Thomas said. 'How much more can the frontline communities take?' Thomas said. 'If you stand outside in Whiting, your throat can start to burn, your eyes tear up and you can get heart palpitations. These communities are called sacrifice zones are deserve extreme consideration.' IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Institute researchers find links between exposure to Carcinogens and aromatics released from gasoline
Apr. 1—Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, PhD, professor at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, is the author of a paper appearing in the scientific journal iScience titled "Aromatics from fossil fuels and breast cancer." In a review of existing scientific literature, researchers identified links between exposure to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) aromatics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from fossil fuels and breast cancer risk in humans. Breast cancer rates continue to rise, especially in young women. Years of scientific research has shown breast cancer risk which runs in families is often caused by germline mutations — mutations in parental cells that are passed down to offspring. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two of the most commonly known genetic mutations linked to inherited breast cancer risk. At the same time, more than 80% of breast cancers develop sporadically without any inherited mutations — and causes for these breast cancers have remained unknown. Several risk factors have been identified, such as timing of puberty onset and menopause, age at first pregnancy, diet and lifetime exposure to estrogens. However, these factors do not cause breast cancer, but alter vulnerability to environmental carcinogens that then can cause breast cancer. The Biofuels Research Project researchers have studied the carcinogenic (cancer-causing) effects of compounds originating from burning fossil fuels. In their newly published review of existing scientific literature, researchers identify exposure to PAHs from fossil fuels as key mutagens (compounds that can lead to DNA mutations) causing breast cancer in humans. Among their key findings: —Exposure to BTEX aromatics in fossil fuels may add to the adverse effects of PAH exposure. —Exposure to BTEX compounds early in life, including in utero, may increase susceptibility to PAH-initiated breast cancer. —Early life exposure to BTEX compounds may increase later breast cancer risk by silencing DNA repair mechanisms, increasing the number of targets in the breast that are known to be the sites where breast cancers are initiated (terminal lobular ductal units or TLDUs), and causing persistent gut dysbiosis (imbalance of healthy and harmful gut bacteria) which in turn impairs immune responses in the tumor microenvironment, preventing effector CD8+ T cells from killing cancer cells. "It is essential to reduce exposure to the products from burning fossil fuels to prevent breast cancer. We are studying if reducing BTEX exposure will reduce susceptibility to PAH induced breast cancer. One way to reduce BTEX compounds is to reduce exposure by adding ethanol to gasoline," Hilakivi-Clarke said. The Hormel Institute researchers Theresa Jolejole, PhD candidate; Joas Lucas da Silva, PhD, post-doctoral associate; and Fabia de Oliveira Andrade, PhD, senior scientist, are among the authors of the paper. The research project is supported by 15 different ethanol and biofuels funding agencies.
