What happens when Texas stops watching pollution

May 17, 2017 Updated: June 12, 2017 4:00pm

Milby Park on Houston's east side appears to have everything you could want for a day outdoors: Soccer fields, 18 holes for disc golf, picnic areas and a children's playground. There are plans for a hike-and-bike trail, a $3.5 million project scheduled for completion next year.

What it does not have is reliably clean air.

The park is located across Sims Bayou from three chemical facilities. In 2005, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality attributed high concentrations of cancer-causing 1,3-butadiene in the area to neighboring industrial plants and pushed for pollution reductions.

Within four years, TCEQ declared victory and removed Milby Park from the state's watch list for air pollution.

A new Environmental Defense Fund analysis, however, suggests that harmful pollution remains a problem for this area near Texas 225 and Loop 610. In 2014 and 2015, monitors detected alarming spikes in butadiene, according to the most recent data available.

Butadiene, a chemical used in the production of synthetic rubber, is a known carcinogen. Short-term exposure also can cause irritation of lungs, throat, nasal passages and eyes.

The recent spikes at Milby Park illustrate the shortcomings of the watch list. The program can be a valuable tool for providing additional scrutiny of sources in watch list areas, but it doesn't mean we can breathe easier once an area is dropped from the list.

Analysis of the most recent data, from 2014 and 2015, has found spikes at Milby Park in the levels of butadiene, a known carcinogen. Photo: Eric Kayne, For The Chronicle / Freelance
Photo: Eric Kayne, For The Chronicle

Overall, our analysis revealed concentrations of air toxics that could endanger public health at eight locations removed from the state's watch list since 2007.



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Monitoring data at Lynchburg Ferry, for example, shows that pollution spikes involving styrene have become more frequent and more acute since TCEQ removed the area from the watch list in 2014. Used in the production of resins and plastics, styrene can cause adverse effects on the central nervous system, including headaches and fatigue.

What's more, there are some monitors that do not report data consistently, and some monitors for which TCEQ does not provide data — even though it should be available publicly.

One striking example is Texas City. The state added the area to the list because of worrisome concentrations of multiple pollutants, including cancer-causing benzene. Even though TCEQ removed benzene from the watch list, the area continued to see spikes, including one episode that was seven times greater than the state's health-based guideline for the pollutant.

The absence of information about these seemingly random pollution spikes is troubling, because it suggests that TCEQ has stopped paying attention before its work is truly complete.

There are steps the state can take to improve the watch list's effectiveness.

1) TCEQ should ensure all monitoring equipment is reporting data accurately and consistently. If a monitor reveals a pollution spike, the commission should investigate to identify the source and take steps to address the problem.

2) TCEQ should make certain to report hourly emissions data as soon as possible, so that local officials can make informed decisions to protect their communities, such as when to shelter in place.

And the commission should make all monitoring data available to the public.

Maybe then we can breathe easier.


Elena Craft is a senior health scientist at Environmental Defense Fund.

Bookmark Gray Matters, though short-term exposure can cause irritation of lungs, throat, nasal passages and eyes.