Industrial flares and their effects on

INDUSTRIAL FLARES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT:

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS FILE A FEDERAL LAWSUIT OVER AIR POLLUTION FROM THESE FLARES

As we know them, flares are crucial safety devices used in refineries and petrochemical facilities to safely burn excess hydrocarbon, which cannot be recycled, or dangerous organic compounds such as benzene. But again, on the other hand, we are all aware of the byproducts of combustion, especially flaring, which releases major greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. However, the flare technique is effective as a pollution control method only if operated correctly.

All across the US, thousands of industrial flares blaze, burning excess waste gases, releasing smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other hazardous pollutants such as carcinogenic benzene that are a great threat to the surrounding community.

Regarding that, a coalition of ten environmental organizations on October 29, 2020, sued the Trump administration’s EPA over its failure to bring down the growing air pollution from industrial flares from petrochemical plants, gas processing facilities, municipal solid waste landfills, and other industrial sites across the country. The organizations that filed the lawsuit, after sending notices of intent to sue EPA sent on June 11 and August 17, 2020, include; Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Clean Air Council, Air Alliance Houston,

Chesapeake Climate Action

Network, Earthworks,

Environment America,

Environment Texas, Hoosier

Environmental Council, PennEnvironment, and Texas Campaign for the Environment.

The federal Clean Air Act requires EPA to review air pollution control standards at least once every eight years to ensure they adequately protect

Americans and incorporate technological advancements.

However, EPA has failed to update two sets of air pollution control standards for industrial flares for decades— 34 and 26 years, respectively.

“It’s been far too long since EPA updated these industrial flare standards, and EPA is well aware of the problem,” said Adam Kron, Senior

Attorney for the Environmental

Integrity Project (EIP). “Time and time again over the past decade, EPA has admitted that flares operating under these outdated standards can release many times more toxic air pollutants into local communities than estimated. This can cause serious harm to public health.”

On the other hand, Joseph Otis Minott,

Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council, said: “There is no excuse for continuing to permit antiquated pollution-controlling technology in new industrial facilities. EPA has a responsibility to protect our air and our health, and it cannot do so while sleeping at the wheel.”

To operate correctly, operators are required to inject steam into flares to prevent them from smoking, which leads to the release of only soot or fine particle. However, operators inject far more steam than needed, leading to pollution. Studies by EPA and other industry players have revealed that over-steamed flares do not burn well, thus release more toxic and smog-forming compounds that should have been destroyed in the combustion process if the flares are operated correctly. On top of that, the current air pollution control standards give operators the freedom to average their measurements over three-hour periods rather than a shorter period, allowing for spikes resulting from the correct operation.

Some of the outdated industrial flares addressed in the lawsuit include flares at petrochemical facilities, gasoline terminals, natural gas processing plants, compressor stations, solid waste landfills, and other large industrial sites. The lawsuit exempted flares at petroleum refineries, which EPA updated standards in 2015, and flares at oil and gas wells, which have a different unique set of standards. Continued use of outdated standards can lead to the release of vast quantities of air pollution at the local level. An example is the case of a gas processing plant from Texas’ Permian Basin owned by Oxy USA LLC, which reported 136 tons of volatile organic compounds from flares emission in 2017, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

I think it’s time EPA takes its role seriously in protecting the environment we live in. additionally, it’s everybody’s obligation to take care of our environment. From corporates, organizations, to you as an individual. A clean environment is good for us all.

Work cited.

https://www.earthworks.org/media-releases/environmentalgroups-file-federal-lawsuit-over-air-pollution-from-industrialflares/.

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