New Report Reveals Top 12 Air Polluters and Contributors to Climate Change in Houston/Harris County

Findings highlight need for greater accountability and oversight

Houston, TX—Air Alliance Houston has released a new report, “Houston’s Dirty Dozen,” which identifies the top twelve industrial air polluters in the region. The analysis reveals significant environmental and public health challenges posed by these companies, including greenhouse gas emissions—the primary source of climate change driving the extreme weather currently plaguing our region.

The ‘Dirty Dozen’ were identified through an analysis of comprehensive datasets from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). This analysis reveals that these twelve facilities are responsible for a significant share of chemical releases and climate-warming pollution in Harris County, with health impacts ranging from short-term respiratory irritation to long-term cancer risks.

“These emissions contribute to the overall burden of air pollution and heat-trapping gasses that cause climate change, increasing the likelihood and frequency of extreme weather events such as the recent Derecho and Hurricane Beryl,” said Dr. Inyang Uwak, Research and Policy Director at Air Alliance Houston. “This report should serve as a call to industry to clean up their act, considering the public health and environmental impacts of their emissions on our communities.”

The majority of these polluters are located in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods in East Harris County, exacerbating environmental and climate injustice. 

Map highlighting the “Dirty Dozen Facilities:” Waste Management Atascocita Recycling Center, Altivia Oxide Chemicals Crosby, Republic Services McCarty Road Landfill East Houston, LyondellBasell Channelview Complex, Equistar Chemicals Channelview, INEOS Battleground Manufacturing Complex La Porte, Calpine Deer Park Energy Center, Shell – Deer Park Chemicals, Celanese Chemicals Clear Lake, Chevron Phillips Chemical – Cedar Bayou, ExxonMobil Baytown, and Dixie Chemicals Pasadena.

Highlights of the report include:

• Chemical releases: ExxonMobil Baytown, LyondellBasell Channelview, and Chevron Phillips Baytown are responsible for a staggering 60% of the chemical releases in Harris County. The most emitted compounds include Ethylene, Propylene, and Ammonia, which are harmful to human health and the environment.
• Hazardous chemicals: LyondellBasell Channelview is the region’s biggest source of Ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen. This chemical poses one of the highest environmental health risks in the area.
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: ExxonMobil Baytown leads also in greenhouse gas emissions, with significant releases of Carbon dioxide and Nitrous oxide. In addition, the waste industry, with Atascocita Recycling Center and McCarty Road Landfill, contributes to 78% of the total methane emissions in Harris County, according to the data. All of these emissions are major contributors to climate change, driving extreme weather events. 
• Air permit violations: Altivia Oxide Chemicals had the highest number of high-priority violations and penalties paid.

The report aims to raise awareness of these environmental challenges and push for stronger regulatory actions to protect public health. 

“The air pollution that harms health and causes climate change is not an acceptable by-product of the fossil fuel industry in our community,” said Jennifer Hadayia, Executive Director at Air Alliance Houston. “There are known, specific company culprits that have been allowed to pollute beyond healthy limits for far too long, while Houstonians bear the harm. This new report proves, once and for all, that these facilities need greater accountability and oversight.”

Download the full report here. 

Quotes about the report from partners:

“Companies that pollute the air and water in our communities need to be held accountable. Most of these facilities are in Black and Brown neighborhoods, which often bear the burden of harmful pollutants. We should not be willing to compromise the health of the people of Harris County for the sake of profit,” said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee.

“This report underscores the urgent need for industry accountability to safeguard community safety and health. Petrochemical facilities ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, and Chevron Phillips alone are responsible for 60 percent of chemical releases, impacting not only fenceline residents but everyone living in the Greater Houston area,” said Jordan Macha, Gulf States Director at Beyond Petrochemicals. 

“The ExxonMobil Baytown complex is one of the dirtiest factories in the nation and despite a long record of fires, explosions and pollution violations, state regulators just last week gave them permission to pollute even more. The state of Texas is cheating the people of Baytown and Houston out of clean air. We need the U.S. EPA to step in and make Exxon clean up its act,” said Luke Metzger, Executive Director of Environment Texas.

“We all have the right to breathe clean air, but every day, people across Harris County are exposed to pollution that puts their health at risk,” said Dr. Grace Tee Lewis, Senior Health Scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund. “Air Alliance Houston’s new report is a valuable tool for demanding greater accountability from the facilities that contribute significantly to health risks in the region—and from the agencies tasked with enforcing environmental laws.”

“This important new report from Air Alliance Houston shines a spotlight on the corporate polluters that are putting the health and safety of Houston area residents at risk,” said Jen Duggan, Executive Director of the Environmental Integrity Project. “We can’t allow reckless companies to reap profits from the release of chemicals and toxic air pollution while workers and communities are forced to pay the price. These emissions are not just numbers on a page – they have real life consequences for people.”   

###

Media contact: Riikka Pohjankoski, [email protected] or 713 589 7079

About Air Alliance Houston 
Air Alliance Houston believes everyone deserves to breathe clean air. We support communities as they advocate for clean air and their health. For decades, we have championed clean air through research, education and advocacy. www.airalliancehouston.org

About the Harris County Attorney’s Office 
Christian D. Menefee serves as the elected, top civil lawyer for Texas’ largest county. The HarrisCounty Attorney’s Office represents the county in all civil matters including lawsuits. Menefee leads an office of 250 attorneys and staff members. He entered office at 32 years old, making him the youngest person and first African American elected as the Harris County Attorney.

About Beyond Petrochemicals
Launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies in September 2022, Beyond Petrochemicals: People Over Pollution aims to halt the rapid expansion of petrochemical and plastic pollution in the United States. The campaign draws on the success of the Beyond Coal campaign, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Bloomberg’s Beyond Carbon campaign, to turbocharge existing efforts led by frontline communities to block the rapid expansion of 120+ petrochemical projects concentrated in three target geographies – Louisiana, Texas, and the Ohio River Valley. The campaign also works to establish stricter rules for existing petrochemical plants to safeguard the health of American communities. To date, Beyond Petrochemicals has helped raise awareness and lead timely collaboration efforts using its four pillars of community leadership, data and research, legislation and litigation, and stakeholder engagement to accelerate its goals. For more information, please visit us at beyondpetrochemicals.org and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.

About Environmental Defense Fund
One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, the Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and offices in the United States, China, Mexico, Indonesia, and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys, and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on X (formerly known as Twitter) @EnvDefenseFund.

About Environmental Integrity Project
The Environmental Integrity Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting public health and our natural resources by holding polluters and government agencies accountable under the law, advocating for tough but fair environmental standards, and empowering communities fighting for clean air and clean water.

About Environment Texas
Environment Texas works for clean air, clean water, clean energy, wildlife and open spaces, and a livable climate.