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Eyes On Shell Reports Shell Petrochemical Plant Fenceline Monitors Found Benzene Emissions Above Toxic Substances Limits; No Timeline For Restarting Plant; DEP Issued Another NOV For Air Violations

On April 25, the Eyes On Shell citizens initiative reported fenceline air pollution monitoring data at Shell's Petrochemical Plant in Beaver County reported benzene levels of over 185 µg/m3 and 89 µg/m3 they said was above the 29 µg/m3 minimum risk level established by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Eyes on Shell said the plant's 110 µg/m3 two-week average concentration far exceeds the 29 ug/m3 minimal risk level for acute inhalation exposure.

They said around 9:00 p.m. on April 11, residents near the plant reported to Eyes On Shell strong smells described as a chemical fire, burning plastic and a strong chemical smell.

They said benzene has a sweet, aromatic, gasoline-like odor. People also complained about headaches, sore throat and coughing. Most individuals can begin to smell benzene in air at 4.96 µg/m3.

The odor threshold, they said, generally provides adequate warning for acutely hazardous exposure concentrations but is inadequate for more chronic exposures.

"This is not the first time that Shell has exceeded the benzene trigger of 9 µg/m3 [at which Shell is required to investigate]. They keep repeating the same mistake," said Dr. Clifford Lau of Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community's Eyes on Shell watchdog team. "Shell needs to get this problem resolved."

Shell Response - Air Emissions

At an online community meeting held by Shell on April 25, Dr. Chris Kuhlman from the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, said he reviewed air emissions data related to the biotreater odor incidents for Shell and found elevated levels of volatile organic compounds and benzene inside the fenceline, but said they were not above worker exposure limits.

Dr. Kuhlman acknowledged benzene was detected at two fenceline monitoring stations on April 11-- 58 ppb [185 µg/m3] at one station and 28 ppb [89 µg/m3] at the other. [Units conversion factor]

"At these concentrations if someone was standing at the fenceline at these locations and during this time, these parts per billion levels of benzene would not be expected to cause even transient discomfort or irritation after minutes to hours of exposure," said Dr. Kuhlman.

"Now around this time, air monitoring teams were deployed to conduct air monitoring rounds offsite past the fenceline in the community. Their monitoring teams performed between April 11th and April 13th [and] did not note ongoing offsite impacts.”

"And if you look at the long-term air monitoring data, again, the passive air monitoring systems that are PAMs that's being collected at the downwind community adjacent fenceline, the average levels of benzene and other chemicals tested in this area are below levels that would suggest a long-term health concern,” said Dr. Kuhlman.

"Keep in mind that evaluating exposure includes determining if inhaling a chemical may cause acute or immediate health effects from acute short-term exposure or long-term health effects from chronic exposures, which would be continuous and repeated exposures over a longer period, like several months or years," said Dr. Kuhlman.

Kimberly Kaal, Environmental Manager at the Plant, noted air monitoring and other information is posted on the Shell Plant website.

William Watson, General Manager of the Shell plant, apologized for the odor incidents and said the company needs to communicate faster with the community when there is a problem.

Restart Of Plant

Watson gave no timeline for restarting the plant.

"We've shut down operations to really work on our flare system and on our wastewater treatment system. But during that time, we're also going to take advantage of the pause and do some other work on and test other parts of our plant,” said Watson. And we call that really [an] opportunity scope that we've got. And we've often said, and we'll continue to say, "We move at the speed of safety." And that's the case regarding how long the shutdown is going to continue.”

Emergency Flaring

“Now, when we restart the plant, there will be flaring, as I mentioned, when we restart the cracker. That's what happens,” said Watson. “And when that occurs, we will post notices on our Facebook site before then, so the community is aware where it's going to take place.”

With respect to the flaring incidents, Watson said there are “several factors that contribute to the additional flaring that cause the emissions exceeds.

“That includes the temporary initial startup activities, the equipment shakedown period. Again, unforeseen and unpredictable circumstances that arose just because of the complexity of this site and this project,” said Watson.

“It's starting up the largest construction project in the State of Pennsylvania since World War II, and it's one of the largest construction projects in the nation in quite some time.

“There's been no reported injuries to workers or to the community because of these violations.

“But that being said, no violations [are] acceptable, so we're going to continue to be transparent, report out, comply with regulations, while also applying the learnings and best practices to ensure our operations, again, have no negative impact on people or the environment,” said Watson.

“Again, as we learn, we look to improve. Just like with anything else, in this particular event that occurred, we are doing an after action review overall,” said Watson. “And again, how we can do better, both from an onsite communication standpoint, but then off-site as well.”

DEP Actions

On April 17, DEP issued another notice of violation for the odors and emissions associated with the bio treatment facility Dr. Kuhlman was discussing.

DEP has also issued multiple NOVs for air violations related to air pollution from flaring and other emissions at the plant.

DEP also received a Malfunction Report from Shell for the April 11 odor incident and has posted its inspection reports for April 10, 12 and 13.

Visit DEP's Shell Petrochemical Complex webpage for more information on reports and actions taken related to the plant.

Eyes On Shell

Eyes on Shell said since January 2022, Shell has submitted more than 39 "Malfunction Reports" to the DEP listing a multitude of problems at the plant.

Since April 2022, the state DEP has issued 14 "Notices of Violation," 11 of which were related to air quality.

They noted these citations have not ended ongoing problems with the plant, and evidence of evasive behaviors towards the PA DEP’s requests for root cause explanations are starting to emerge.

The Environmental Integrity Project and Clean Air Council sent a notice of intent to sue letter to Shell for repeatedly violating air pollution limits and releasing plumes of black smoke from flares in violation of the law. The notice is a legally required first step to sue a company under the Clean Air Act. Read more here.

"This is not a plant Pennsylvania taxpayers should be subsidizing for $1.65 billion," said Matt Mehalik, Breathe Project executive director. "Why should taxpayers be subsidizing a plant that continues to be out-of-control and that releases harmful chemicals to the community? EPA Region 3 should consider stepping in to put an end to ongoing, highly problematic malfunctions at this facility.”

May 3 Eyes On Shell Meeting

Eyes on Shell will host a May 3 online community meeting to provide updates on Shell Plant monitoring activities.

Click Here to register.

Visit the Eyes On Shell, Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community and Breathe Project websites for more information.

Visit DEP's Shell Petrochemical Complex webpage for more information on reports and actions taken related to the plant.

NewsClips:

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Shell Addresses Bad Smell, Elevated Benzene Emissions At Beaver County Chemical Plant

-- Beaver County Times: Questions Remain After Shell Air Monitors Detect Benzene At Petrochemical Plant

-- TribLive: Operations On Hold At Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shell Apologizes For Recent Odor At Petrochemical Plant, Promises To Do Better In The Future

-- Beaver County Times Guest Essay: Community Matters: Shell Petrochemical Plant’s Claim To Be A Good Neighbor Is Insulting To Beaver County Residents - By Daniel Rossi-Keen, Ph.D, RiverWise

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