As the petrochemical capital of the United States, the Houston area is at the center of a toxics storm. Numerous studies have documented dangerous levels of toxic air pollution in the Houston area, including the Milby Park and Galena Park neighborhoods. Communities in other industrialized areas throughout Texas face similar toxic threats. Refineries and chemical plants along the Texas Gulf Coast are major contributors to toxic hotspots in Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Freeport, Port Arthur, Port Neches, and Texas City.
Using Houston as a case study, this report details many of the shortcomings of federal and state toxics regulation, and provides a roadmap for reducing emissions of these harmful pollutants from refineries and chemical plants throughout the state of Texas and beyond.
