Marathon Petroleum has asked the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to allow them to emit more harmful pollutants into Detroit’s air. The proposal is unacceptable because it comes at the cost of Detroit’s ailing public health.
This proposal would involve pumping yet more smog into the state’s most polluted ZIP code. The health consequences of air pollution in Detroit are staggering. Detroit has some of the highest asthma rates in the state. Nearly 1 in 6 Detroiters suffer from asthma. For children, this isnearly 50% higher than in other Michigan cities. While asthma is on the decline nationally, this is not the case in the southwest Detroit ZIP code where the Marathon refinery sits, 48217. Data from Wayne State University between 2005 and 2012 suggests that asthma prevalence increased by over 2% in that ZIP code.