EPA failed to take action on excessive benzene emissions at South Philly refinery site for years

A government watchdog for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the agency has failed to adequately enforce benzene emission standards at refineries, singling out the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery, which continued to exceed emissions standards two years after a 2019 explosion and fire caused it to close.

PES in South Philadelphia was cited as a case study for lax enforcement in a report this week by the EPA’s Office of Inspector General that called on the agency to “enhance oversight” to ensure refineries comply with benzene fence-line monitoring regulations.

The PES refinery was the largest of its kind on the East Coast when it exploded.

“The refinery exceeded the action level in the majority of two-week periods for more than two years after ceasing operations, and no enforcement action was taken,” the report states. “Philadelphia Energy Solutions is in a community with environmental justice concerns.”

Hilco Redevelopment Partners purchased the property in June 2020 with the goal of spending $4 billion over the next 15 years to transform the 1,300-acre site into a life sciences, business and industrial campus known as the Bellwether District. Hilco did not cause the pollution but is responsible for some cleanup in a complex remediation agreement.

“Benzene is a known carcinogen, and it is obviously still being emitted from the refinery site,” said Russell Zerbo, an advocate with the nonprofit Clean Air Council, who, along with others, is critical of Hilco for no longer monitoring specifically for benzene because it is not required to do so. “EPA should step in and demand that Hilco focus on the cleanup of the site and not its redevelopment.”

There are no refining operations left at the PES site.

Hilco said in a statement that its redevelopment “inherently improved the surrounding environment on the day of acquisition.”

The bulk of the inspector general’s report criticized the EPA’s oversight of benzene monitoring at fence lines, or perimeters, of petroleum refining operations across the U.S.

Benzene is regulated as a hazardous air pollutant. High exposure can also lead to dizziness, headaches, and unconsciousness. The compound is emitted at refineries through tanks, equipment leaks, and wastewater treatment. High concentrations can pose risks for nearby communities, in this case South and Southwest Philadelphia.

“Oversight by the EPA and delegated authorities has not ensured that all refineries that exceed the action level reduce their benzene concentrations at their fence lines,” the report states. In fact, from January 2018 to September 2021, the report said, 13 of 18 refineries reviewed showed benzene concentrations above levels needed to take some form of action in 20 or more weeks after the initial exceedance.

Benzene is measured in micrograms (one-millionth of a gram) per cubic meter. Any level over 9 requires refineries to “conduct a root cause analysis and take corrective actions.”

For its study period, the EPA scored refineries that had exceeded 9 at least one time over two weeks. It identified the nine refineries that scored the highest in benzene concentrations January 2018 through September 2021. EPA officials then reached out to the EPA regional offices involved with those refineries, as well as state and local environmental authorities, and reviewed documents. PES scored second highest.

The report said exceeding benzene levels does not necessarily constitute a violation or trigger a fine. But it does require a refinery to lower benzene concentrations. If the problem takes longer than 45 days to fix, it must submit a plan to the EPA.

The report recommends that the EPA provide better guidance as to what constitutes a violation, how to identify gaps in refinery-submitted data, and develop a strategy to address refineries that fail to reduce benzene below the threshold.

It highlighted issues with PES as a case study. The report said that although PES closed after the explosion, it continued to exceed levels requiring action but that the EPA did not follow through with any enforcement.

“EPA does not comment on enforcement matters,” said Virgnia Nurk a spokeswoman for EPA Region 3.

“While the EPA has taken enforcement action against HollyFrontier Artesia, the refinery with the highest score based on the OIG’s ranking of refinery benzene concentrations, it has not taken enforcement action at the second highest-scoring refinery, Philadelphia Energy Solutions,” the Inspector General’s report said.

The report said PES exceeded levels requiring enforcement for long periods and had submitted a plan to correct the problem just before the explosion and cessation of operations in July 2019.

However, PES continued to exceed benzene emissions of 9 micrograms per cubic meter in more than half of sampling periods between July 2019 and September 2021, well after it was shuttered.

Officials at Region 3 told the Inspector General’s office that after the explosion, they had focused their attention on hydrogen fluoride, which is extremely toxic and dangerous. It was a major concern for officials around the region after the explosion.

EPA Region 3 officials blamed continued benzene emissions after the explosion as the result of the dismantling of the massive complex and the moving of products containing the chemical.

Beginning in January 2020, the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance — the agency’s law enforcement arm — began expressing concerns about continued elevated benzene levels at the site. The Inspector General’s Office said documents show Region 3 did not conduct an on-site inspection at that time, instead choosing to email refinery officials in March and June 2020 about remaining tanks at the site. Hilco was by then purchasing the property.

In October 2020, the EPA conducted a mobile monitoring study at the refinery but did not find high concentrations of benzene. But it was only a one-day examination.

The Inspector General’s Office confirmed that for a two-week sampling period ending March 23, 2022, benzene levels had fallen to 3.2 micrograms per cubic meter. The report noted that Philadelphia Air Management Services is checking air quality “in the nearby community to assess impacts from multiple sources of air toxics emissions, including benzene.”

“If refineries do not reduce their benzene concentrations after exceeding the action level, nearby communities could be exposed to benzene concentrations that increase the risk of adverse health effects,” the report said.

Zerbo, the Clean Air Council advocate, said during Hilco’s last week of fence line monitoring in December 2022, benzene levels were at 12 micrograms per cubic meter.

Hilco, however, said in its statement that “average benzene concentrations have decreased steadily since 2020 as the refinery was decommissioned and demolished.” It said benzene concentrations in outdoor air at the site are “now consistent with concentrations in other areas of Philadelphia” and that it continues to monitor for all Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which includes benzene.