What are the negative effects of having a petrochemical company in your community?
The research is extensive and consistent across public health, environmental justice, and community studies. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown:
Health impacts
The oil and gas industry uses toxic manufacturing processes to turn fossil fuels into known carcinogens like benzene and vinyl chloride, which have been shown to cause cancer and other health harms in humans. A viewpoint article published in JAMA Oncology, drawing on researchers from the University of Miami, highlights how each step of the petrochemical processing pathway — extraction, refining, processing, transportation, use, and disposal — poses additional health risks. US EPAKelley Drye
Specific health concerns include:
- Cancer. Benzene, a common petrochemical emission, is a known leukemia-causing carcinogen. EPA’s updated Hazardous Organic NESHAP rules (2024) targeted six high-priority chemicals from petrochemical plants, all of which are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health problems. NatLawReview
- Respiratory disease. Plants emit large amounts of benzene and nitrogen oxides, which react to form ground-level ozone (smog), contributing to asthma and other respiratory diseases. alabama
- Endocrine and reproductive disruption. Researchers note that even former residents of fenceline communities can be affected: “These are toxins that literally can change your genetics. They affect your endocrine system, and they affect your reproductive ability.” EPA
- Water contamination. River water samples around facilities have shown elevated PFAS levels, and microplastics — particularly the plastic pellets called nurdles produced when plants “crack” ethane — are a focus of ongoing concern. Hunton
Reliability and accident risk
A 2024 report found that 94% of the 50 plastics plants examined reported accidents or “emissions events.” One prominent example is the Shell ethane cracker in Beaver County, Pennsylvania — built with an estimated $1.65 billion in state tax credits — which had to shut down for two months after a series of malfunctions, spills, and illegal odor events. Residents near that plant complained of odors of “gasoline” and “burning plastic,” with videos showing crews spraying a tower with water during intense flaring events. alabama + 2
Quality of life and nuisance
Even in the absence of acute accidents, day-to-day living is affected. Chronic odors, 24-hour industrial lighting that illuminates the night sky, constant low-level noise from equipment and flaring, and heavy truck traffic are persistent complaints in communities hosting these facilities. Petrochemical plants have turned entire communities into what advocates call “sacrifice zones,” exposing households to toxic emissions and driving up rates of chronic disease. US EPA
Environmental justice dimension
Most of these plants are in the Gulf Coast and are disproportionately located in majority non-white, largely low-income communities. An Amnesty International/Human Rights Watch report found that communities living near the largest petrochemical concentrations in Texas and Louisiana are regularly exposed to toxic pollution that devastates health and violates human rights — and that state regulators imposed penalties in less than 3% of cases of unpermitted pollution, routinely renewed permits even after repeated violations, and set fines too low to deter recurrence. alabamabdlaw
Climate and long-term environmental costs
By 2050, petrochemical emissions will account for roughly 15% of the total U.S. carbon budget. Worldwide, petrochemicals and their products are responsible for approximately 10% of carbon emissions, and global carbon pollution from plastic production could triple by 2050 if left unchecked. US EPA
Property values and economic trade-offs
Research consistently shows that proximity to industrial facilities suppresses residential property values — typically 5–15% within a mile or two of a plant, with larger discounts near facilities with violation histories. This is particularly damaging because many fenceline residents have their primary wealth tied up in their homes, and they’re often the least able to relocate. The promised local economic benefits (jobs and tax revenue) frequently fail to materialize at the scale politicians promise, and much of the skilled workforce is imported from elsewhere.
The core tension, especially relevant in Louisiana, is that communities often bear concentrated costs — health, quality of life, property values — while the economic benefits are dispersed more broadly or captured by shareholders elsewhere.