HOUSTON – The top industrial polluters in Harris County, which encompasses Houston, are overwhelmingly petrochemical companies, which are responsible for millions of pounds of chemical releases and hundreds of state and federal environmental violations, according to a new report.
Using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Air Alliance, a Houston-based environmental non-profit dedicated to clean air, identified 12 of the Houston area’s top polluters.
The report details millions of pounds of chemical releases, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental regulation violations. Many of the chemicals — including cancer-causing compounds such as ethylene oxide and formaldehyde — are linked to potential health risks to surrounding communities. The greenhouse gas emissions contribute to localized issues like increased ozone and particulate matter pollution, and broader climate warming.
The report examined data for 272 chemicals and 350 facilities from the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory from the years 2018-2022. The database compiles self-reported chemical releases from industrial sources like spills, leaks or emissions. Of the 350 analyzed facilities, three — ExxonMobil, Chevron Phillips Chemical and LyondellBasell — were responsible for more than 19 million pounds of chemical releases, which represents about 60% of all Harris County pollution releases over that time span.
Here is Air Alliance’s “dirty dozen,” the region’s top 12 industrial polluters, according to the report (listed here in no particular order):
- ExxonMobil Baytown Site
- Chevron Phillips Chemical
- Shell Deer Park Chemical
- LyondellBasell Industry
- Altivia Oxide Chemicals
- Equistar Chemicals Channelview
- Atascocita Recycling Center
- McCarty Road Landfill
- Deer Park Energy Center
- Dixie Holdings Inc
- Ineos Oxide
- Celanese Clear Lake
“We found it necessary to identify the most polluting facilities to call attention to the amount of emissions released by the same facilities and to be cognizant of the cumulative impact of their emissions on the surrounding communities,” the report authors wrote.
EHN reached out to the three companies with the most chemical releases. ExxonMobil told EHN that they are working on a comment. LyondellBasell has not responded. We will update this article when the companies respond.
Chevron Chemicals’ communications representative Lisa Trow told EHN via email “Chevron Phillips Chemical is committed to responsible operation of our facilities and to continuous improvement of our environmental performance.”
She added Chevron is working to “decrease air emissions through flare gas recovery equipment” and to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sourcing greater amounts of renewable energy.”
Ten of these facilities are within the petrochemical hub in the southeastern and eastern regions of greater Houston. According to the EPA, the fenceline communities in the surrounding zip codes bear the brunt of the pollution and are dominantly people of color. Individuals in the area also tend to have lower incomes than county averages.
“We know this is a business, and you want to … make a profit, but consider the communities next door,” Inyang Uwak, environmental epidemiologist for Air Alliance, told EHN at a press conference in Baytown on Tuesday.
