Suite 320
Los Angeles, CA 90010-1904
ANGELES CHAPTER
| 3435 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 320 Los Angeles, CA 90010-1904 |
|
|
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT:
Jessie Marquez, Sierra Club 310-704-1265 Tom Politeo, Sierra Club 562-618-1127 |
REFINERIES IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO REDUCE HAZARDOUS AIR EMISSIONS, GROUPS SAY |
|
|
Los Angeles, Calif. - Today, Our Children's Earth Foundation and the Sierra Club went to court to protect local communities and prevent a wide range of health problems in Los Angeles, California. In a new lawsuit, filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the groups demanded that the agency follow the Clean Air Act and update air pollution standards for petroleum refineries. According to EPA's own data, petroleum refineries in Los Angeles produce more than 3,726,542 pounds of pollutants, including tons of Hazardous Air Pollutants such as benzene, cresols, phenols, toluene, and ethyl benzene. Public health threats from these hazardous air pollutants include cancer, weakening of bone marrow and muscles, asthma, and upper respiratory disorders. "Air pollution is literally killing thousands of people each year and the federal government is pretending that there is nothing it can do about it," said Tiffany Schauer, executive director of Our Children's Earth. "In reality, the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to keep an eye on these refineries and make sure they are reducing pollution with the best available pollution controls on the market. Instead it is simply ignoring this mandate." The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, is based on the Clean Air Act mandate that the emission standards for these facilities must reflect the maximum emission reduction achievable through the pollution control technology (Maximum Achievable Control Technology or MACT standards). These standards must be reviewed and updated every eight years to ensure that they are not outdated. Although EPA set standards for petroleum refineries in 1995, it failed to review and update the standards as required under law in 2003. This lapse has allowed existing refineries to operate without installing newer technology that would protect local communities and reduce air pollution at refineries across the nation. "Los Angeles citizens pay the public health price, while oil refineries make billions of dollars in profits every year," said Jessie Marquez, a local Sierra Club activist. "There is a better way. The EPA could enforce the law and provide these communities with the health protections they deserve." "There is no place where it is more urgent for the EPA to step up to the plate and enforce the Clean Air Act and regulate petroleum refineries than here," said Tom Politeo, a local Sierra Club activist, "because Los Angles County has more oil refinery pollution than any other county in the nation." The groups filed a notice letter in October, and moved to sue after the EPA still refused to update the standards as required by law. The Angeles Chapter (www.angeles.sierraclub.org) of the Sierra Club serves Los Angeles and Orange counties. ### |
|