"ARTESIA, N.M. — When the new pastor arrived at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church a few years back, he was struck by the sight and smell of the towering refinery a block east of his chapel.
The Rev. A.L. Vijaya Raju had a question: Were fumes from the flares, pipes and tanks to blame for breathing problems afflicting some parishioners?
A deacon told Raju not to worry — but EPA data and documents show the pastor was right to be concerned.
State regulators for more than a decade had allowed HollyFrontier Corp.'s Navajo refinery in this desert town of 12,000 to delay fixing leaky equipment that was releasing toxic gases, including high levels of the carcinogen benzene. Those benzene emissions raised alarm bells at EPA last year and spurred an exhaustive investigation by federal inspectors."
Corbin Hiar reports for Greenwire April 2, 2020, as part of the "Toxic Zones" series, which explores life in the communities around America's oil refineries, in collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University.
SEE ALSO:
"Oil And Gas: Toxic Refinery Leaks Imperiled Philadelphia Residents" (Greenwire)
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