Thread by @NBCNews

Last May, an air monitor on the border of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery recorded a level of benzene, a cancer-causing gas, more than 21 times the federal limit. nbcnews.com/science/enviro… (1/8)

In June, an explosive early morning fire rocked the refinery, terrifying nearby residents.

Weeks after the disaster, as PES filed for bankruptcy and wound down operations, another air monitor quietly registered the same sky-high reading for benzene. nbcnews.com/science/enviro… (2/8)

That monitor, on the edge of the 1,300-acre complex, is just across an expressway from schools, parks, and hundreds of homes.

More than 297,000 people live within 3 miles of the refinery. Nearly 45% live below the poverty line, according to census data. (3/8)

Long-term exposure to benzene has been linked to leukemia and lymphoma.

PES is just one of a dozen refineries across the country that have consistently exceeded the EPA's "action level" of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air, according to data compiled by a watchdog group. (4/8)

Charles Reeves, who lives less than a mile and a half north of both air monitors in a largely African American neighborhood, says no one informed him or his neighbors that they may have been exposed to benzene. nbcnews.com/science/enviro… (5/8)

"Poor people don't get information," says Reeves, 61, a grandfather and prostate cancer survivor. "Whichever way that blows, we're going to be affected." nbcnews.com/science/enviro… (6/8)

Public health advocates are critical of Philadelphia and the EPA for staying mostly silent about the benzene levels in South Philadelphia and around the country. nbcnews.com/science/enviro… (7/8)

"The residents of South Philadelphia bear the environmental cost of the refinery and get almost none of the benefit," atmospheric scientist Peter DeCarlo says.

"It's a classic environmental justice issue." nbcnews.com/science/enviro… (8/8) #NBCNewsThreads