Pollutants & the Effects of Oil Refineries

Current Status

•Total daily oil consumption around the world is 84,249,000 barrels/day

•The U.S. has 4% of the world’s population but uses 25% of the world’s oil

•In 2006, the EPA mandated that diesel fuel refiners had to reduce the sulfur content of their fuel by 97% because sulfur gas compounds are a major source of air pollution

•The U.S. imports 9.01 million barrels/day

The U.S. oil production is 5.36 million barrels/day

The Need

•142 large refineries in the United States, and 6.1 million people within three miles of them

•Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) augmented the Clean Air Act in 2018 to:

•Reduce toxic air pollutants by 5,200 tons

•Decrease 50,000 tons of volatile organic compounds from the air every year

•Monitor concentrations of benzene and informing the public about toxic benzene levels

•“These updated Clean Air Act standards will lower the cancer risk from petroleum refineries for more than 1.4 million people and are a substantial step forward in EPA’s work to protect the health of vulnerable communities located near these facilities.”

-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy

Dangers of Oil Dependency

“It remains hostage to the volatility and misfortunes of oil prices and geopolitics, over which it has no control. The way out; A concentrated effort to displace imported oil with alternative domestic fuels is the only way to become energy independent.”

- John Hofmeister, former CEO of Shell Oil