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NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release
March 04, 2003

Contact:
Alison Brock with Rep. Sylvester Turner's office
(512) 463-0554;
Denny Larson, Refinery Reform Campaign: 800-670-3841;
Peter Altman: 512-479-7744

(AUSTIN) Two thirds of all the toxic pollution emitted by refineries and chemical plants is released near schools in eight counties with more than 142,000 children, according to a new report, "A is for Air Pollution II: The Chemical Threat to Texas Schools". The report is based on a sophisticated analysis of state records and is the first major report by the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition’s Refinery Reform Campaign, based in Austin, Texas.

"Too many children in Texas go to school in the shadow of refineries and chemical plants that every year are allowed to release millions of pounds of toxic chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, learning disabilities and other serious health problems," said State Representative Sylvester Turner (D-Houston). "But right now, we have no system in place to protect these kids when they are the most vulnerable to air pollution. I will be introducing legislation to require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to develop a plan to make sure that these kids can be protected from this toxic threat."

The report covers eight counties - Ector, El Paso, Galveston, Gregg, Harris, Jefferson, Nueces and Orange. General findings of "A is for Air Pollution II" include:

• In just eight Texas counties, nearly two-thirds of all the toxic emissions from the entire petroleum and chemical industry are emitted within two miles of a school. All Texas petroleum and chemical plants emitted 63,674,430 pounds of air toxics in 2000. The 100 plants near schools in this study emitted 39,830,473 pounds in the same year – or 62.5% of all the toxic pollution from this sector in Texas.
• In the eight counties in the study, 142,147 children attend school within a two mile radius of one or more refineries or chemical plants. There are 100 refineries and chemical plants near 216 schools in the studied counties.
• The toxic pollution from the plants in the study include those known to cause cancer, learning disabilities, birth defects and other serious health problems.

"Few parents realize that the state of Texas has no plan or protocol to ensure that the air children breathe at schools near toxic emitters is safe," said Denny Larson, Coordinator of the Refinery Reform Campaign.

"Central to this problem is that there is no consistent air monitoring at these schools or on the fencelines of neighboring plants.  In addition, the state’s established thresholds for how much pollution is safe to endure are grossly insufficient and toothless."

Children are especially vulnerable to chemical pollution because studies show they are more sensitive to air pollution than adults. They tend to exercise more, are outside more often, and breathe lower to the ground where pollution tends to settle. Their bodies ’ biological defense systems are still developing and more vulnerable to chemical pollution.

The new study also reveals the unequal threat to children of color:

• In nearly every county studied, Hispanic and African-American children are most likely to be at a school near refinery or chemical plant.
• Children of color are much more likely to go to an at-risk school than are white children. Hispanic and African-American children make up 73% of the "At-risk " children in this study, whereas they only make up 47.1 percent of all children at all schools statewide.

"Every single child deserves safe air and a clean environment in which to grow, learn and play," said Hilton Kelley of the Community Inpower & Development Association of Port Arthur. "Reducing the toxic threat from industrial pollution is one of the most significant steps Texas can take toward guaranteeing this for every child."

The "Safe at School" Plan outlined in the report recommends the following steps:

1. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality should develop a comprehensive "Safe at School " plan to assure that children are safe from neighboring toxic pollution sources.  Such a plan might include, at a minimum, the following steps:
2. Establish air monitors "tuned " to detect chemicals known to be emitted by nearby plants and place these monitors at schools and plant fencelines;
3. Collect the monitor data, compare it to established safety health levels and make it available to parents and children and school officials;
4. Evaluate the health of kids attending schools located near large industry for future industrial expansions and siting (land use) decisions;
5. Set Effects Screening Levels that take into account how pollution affects children
   and the cumulative impact of toxic pollution.

Assessing penalties could pay for implementation of the "Safe at School" plan on excess upset emissions from large industries. A dollar per pound fee assessed when plants release more than 10,000 pounds of upset or accidental emissions would establish a robust fund to support air monitoring, timely and effective public notice and health evaluations for new and existing schools.

The report paints a conservative picture of the threat to children. Only the largest plants from the refining and chemical sectors were examined, only those with emissions greater than 10,000 pounds per year were included and the study area only covered a handful of counties. In addition, pollution has impacts at much greater than the two mile range used in the study.

The Refinery Reform Campaign performs research, promotes community-based air monitoring, and organizes refinery communities to demand reform of oil refinery operations and regulations. The Refinery Reform Campaign is a project of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition seeking to clean up America’s oil refineries and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Read the "A is for Air Pollution II: the Toxic Threat to Texas Schools" report and summary.