Tons of air pollutants were released into the atmosphere when refineries and petrochemical plants in Texas scrambled to shut production units during a cold snap last week. Refineries release and burn gases when shutting down to prevent damages to production units, a process called flaring. According to preliminary data submitted to the Texas Commission on Environment Quality (TCEQ), the state’s top five refineries emitted 337,000 pounds (152.86 tons) of pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and benzene.
In a filing with the TCEQ, Valero Energy reported it released 39 tons of pollutants from its Port Arthur refinery in Texas for 24 hours starting from late February 15. Motiva said its Port Arthur refinery emitted 59.05 tons of pollutants from February 15 to 18, more than triple the excess emissions that it reported in the full year of 2019.
Marathon said its Galveston Bay refinery released 7.12 tons of emissions in no more than five hours on February 15, equal to 10% of its excess emissions in 2019. Exxon’s Baytown Olefins Plant released nearly 34 tons of carbon monoxide and 1 ton of benzene, the company said.
The flaring continued through the end of the week even as refiners idled their plants. These companies are due to report the final figures of their emissions in two weeks. According to TCEQ data, pollution from facilities in Houston during the deep freeze stood at 351.50 tons, about 3% higher than the permitted maximum amounts for the whole of 2019 and nearly 10% above 2018’s levels.
