Report: EPA approved a fuel component almost guaranteed to cause cancer
- ProPublica’s report says the fuel is not being made yet
- Those exposed to the ingredient over a lifetime are likely to get cancer
- So far, the EPA has required only minimal safety precautions
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(NewsNation) — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a fuel ingredient that anyone exposed to it over a lifetime would be expected to develop cancer, according to a report from ProPublica.
According to the EPA’s own risk formula, the “new Chevron fuel ingredient has a lifetime cancer risk more than 1 million times higher than what the agency usually finds acceptable,” ProPublica reports.
The boat fuel ingredient will be manufactured at the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Citing EPA records, ProPublica reports that although the ingredient can poison the air and contaminate water, agency officials have not mandated any additional safety measures beyond requiring workers to wear gloves.
The ingredient is believed to be so cancerous because it involves pyrolysis, the process of turning plastic waste into liquid fuel.
Critics of pyrolysis also argue that it’s inefficient because the energy needed to extract the chemicals from the plastic requires more energy than it could feasibly produce.
