A Texas woman is suing BP claiming her son’s death resulted from emissions released at the company’s Texas City refinery earlier this year.
BP faces a state investigation for releasing more than 500,000 pounds of material, including several tons of benzene, into the air. The 40-day incident started April 6 and ended May 16, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and BP.
Benzene is a known carcinogen.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday morning in the 212th State District Court, claims the 6-month-old child was diagnosed with pneumonia and that symptoms got worse in April and May while the infant was being cared for at an aunt’s house and a nearby day care center.
BP maintains the release posed no threat on the community and that air monitors at the refinery and from the community monitoring network detected no dangerous concentrations of harmful emissions.
The baby died June 23.
Source: The Galveston County Daily News
Tags: benzene