<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/23/climate-friendly-us-program-plastics-fuel-cancer>
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently gave a Chevron refinery the
green light to create fuel from discarded plastics as part of a
climate-friendly initiative to boost alternatives to petroleum. But, according
to agency records obtained by
ProPublica and the
Guardian, the production
of one of the fuels could emit air pollution that is so toxic, one out of four
people exposed to it over a lifetime could get cancer.
“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.”
That risk is 250,000 times greater than the level usually considered acceptable
by the EPA division that approves new chemicals. Chevron hasn’t started making
this fuel yet, the EPA said. When the company does, the cancer burden will
disproportionately fall on people who have low incomes and are Black because of
the population that lives within three miles of the refinery that will produce
the fuel in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
ProPublica and the
Guardian asked Maria Doa, a scientist who worked at the
EPA for 30 years, to review the document laying out the risk. Doa, who once ran
the division that managed the risks posed by chemicals, was so alarmed by the
cancer threat that she initially assumed it was a typographical error. “EPA
should not allow these risks in Pascagoula or anywhere,” said Doa, who now is
the senior director of chemical policy at Environmental Defense Fund."
Via Doug Senko.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
