A common chemical used in gasoline called benzene has been found to have serious impacts on human health — yet few measures are taken to limit exposure.
What's happening?
Benzene is a liquid chemical with a sweet odor you probably recognize from pumping gas.
However, if there's enough in the air to smell it, it's a bad sign. At low levels, breathing it in can cause dizziness, irregular heartbeat, headache, and tremors. Yet after frequent exposure, it causes leukemia and other blood cancers — at especially high rates for children, babies, and pregnant people. Gas station employees in cities who work with fuel have also shown a higher risk for cancer, Canada's National Observer reported.
The outlet spoke with Kelly Singh, a community housing and health advocate in Mississauga, Ontario, which has some of the highest concentrations of gas stations in the country. Upon learning about benzene's health impacts, Singh began to investigate the imminent danger to neighborhoods built near fuel pumps.
"I started to think about the gas station that's just around the corner from my home," Singh told Canada's National Observer. "I'm very disturbed by this."
Health Canada looked into the issue and found that benzene fumes from gas stations can be harmful to people from over 320 yards away. Yet the group also found homes as close as 10 yards away from a gas station fence.
Why is gas station pollution important?
These human health impacts of benzene are no joke — and the consequences of other animals, plants, and our natural resources being exposed to the chemical aren't any better.
There are no federal limits on benzene pollution in Canada, which leaves each province to set various acceptable levels. Gas station chemicals aren't closely monitored, and zoning regulations are far and few between, as municipalities typically wait to take direction from a federal guideline, according to Canada's National Observer.
"It's bad news to have communities anywhere close to this kind of infrastructure," Dr. Melissa Lem, president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, told the outlet.
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"Your risk for these cancers goes up," Tom Guillen, an American lawyer who specializes in benzene cases, added. "Preventing these injuries is the way to go."
What can be done to reduce exposure and harm?
There are several ways to address the issue through public policy, such as setting a standard acceptable limit for benzene pollution. Creating regulations for how close new construction projects can be to gas stations is another option, Canada's National Observer reported.
Local advocacy is also likely to play a role, to raise awareness and hold municipalities accountable for enforcing any new regulations.
"It's low-hanging fruit to prevent new exposures," Dr. Lem explained to the outlet. "You don't have to retrofit a whole [neighborhood] … You can actually just prevent those homes from being put there in the first place."
Health Canada has also partnered with Environment and Climate Change Canada to conduct a study on gas station pollution that will recommend strategies for lowering the risks. Some solutions already identified include vapor recovery and new vent designs, per the outlet.
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