Benzene is a valuable product to refiners. Benzene, a naturally occurring octane enhancer, is many times replaced with artificially made octane enhancers because of the value of benzene in the market, Hansen said. Port industry refiners such as Valero and Coastal sell benzene to other companies to make pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, plastics, dyes, industrial solvents, detergents and insecticides. Some refiners remove the benzene and discard it, Hansen said. The benzene is sent to aeration ponds that mimic wetlands, where the natural reactions of the water will break down the chemical in a few days, said Martin Brittain, senior environmental engineer for the EPA's Dallas office.
Some refineries destroy benzene by putting it in tanks filled with chemical-eating bacteria.
Criminal charges are especially common when environmental investigators suspect that the law was not only broken, but that there is a suspicion that an attempt was made to cover it up, he said. The company denies that it violated air emission standards for benzene, but settled to avoid a legal battle. The company settled to avoid prosecution for benzene leaks at three East Coast plants. All rights reserved.