Texas approves massive petrochemical expansion despite cancer and air quality warnings from health experts

Texas is moving full speed ahead with a historic petrochemical industry expansion that could dramatically worsen air pollution and public health risks across the state. Despite already being the nation’s top emitter of dangerous carcinogens like benzene and ethylene oxide, Texas has approved 41 new petrochemical projects over the next five years that will collectively release 38.6 million pounds of toxic pollutants annually.

The expansion is staggering in scope: these projects will emit greenhouse gases equivalent to 41 natural gas power plants, while adding cancer-causing chemicals and respiratory irritants to communities already struggling with some of the worst air quality in America. More than half of the 57 petrochemical facilities built since 2013 are located in majority-minority neighborhoods, continuing a troubling pattern of environmental injustice. Areas like Jefferson County and Harris County around Houston face particular threats, with some neighborhoods ranking in the 99th percentile nationwide for cancer risk from air pollution.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has an almost perfect approval record, denying less than 0.5% of air pollution permits over the past 25 years. Meanwhile, historic communities like Beaumont’s Charlton-Pollard neighborhood—established by freed slaves in 1869—face industrial encroachment that threatens their very existence. Health experts warn that the expansion will worsen fine particle pollution and ground-level ozone, pollutants linked to heart attacks, strokes, cognitive decline, and premature death. One analysis estimates that fine particle pollution alone killed over 8,400 Texans in 2016, yet state officials continue prioritizing the industry’s $249 billion economic contribution over public health concerns.