Shell’s Beaver County Ethane Cracking Facility Emits Illegal Amount of Pollution, Puts Nearby Communities at Risk

Monaca, PA (December 15, 2022) –  Last night, The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice of violation to Shell Chemical Appalachia for exceeding their rolling yearly volatile organic compounds (VOCs) limit by nearly 150 tons at their Beaver County Ethane Cracking facility. This facility emitted a total of 662.9 tons of VOCs, and is the largest VOC emitter in Beaver County. This happened immediately after a fraught startup by the facility including excessive flaring and a sickly sweet maple syrup-like odor from VOCs being released into the community. 

“These pollution limits are based on worst case scenarios by the facility,” said Joseph Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. “To exceed this kind of limit in such an excessive fashion is unacceptable and unprecedented in Pennsylvania and puts nearby communities in serious danger.”

VOCs are a class of harmful air pollutants that can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches and loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to the liver, kidneys, or central nervous system. In addition to health effects, they contribute to the formation of ground level ozone or smog. It appears that most of the 100 tons of excess emissions were released in one month from September to October during a period that residents have reported heavy flaring from the facility. DEP has confirmed that other emissions of harmful pollutants have increased along with VOC emissions but have not yet been exceeded.

“Clean Air Council entered into a settlement agreement with Shell in order to stop excessive VOC emissions from flares and install a fenceline monitoring system,” said Alex Bomstein, Legal Director at Clean Air Council. “DEP must now take further action and enforce the law.” 

“These limits are meant to protect frontline communities from toxic pollution from the plant,” said Sarah Kula, Attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project. “The state’s notice of violation is an important step, but Pennsylvania needs to follow through to ensure these violations don’t happen again.”