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Petrochemicals are chemical products made from crude oil, coal, and natural gas. Petrochemical facilities directly manufacture, use, or produce petrochemicals and can also include facilities that produce petroleum, gas, and/or coal feedstocks.
Petrochemical facilities in the United States are primarily concentrated within the Gulf Coast (Louisiana and Texas) and the Ohio River Valley (Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia).
These regions include dense areas of existing facilities (2012-2021 shown), as well as proposed projects that would expand the footprint of the industry.
On average, ~28,000 people live within 3 miles of a petrochemical facility in the Gulf Coast and ~16,000 in the Ohio River Valley. Thirty-eight percent of existing facilities (36% in the Gulf Coast and 55% in the Ohio River Valley) are located in areas with very high cumulative impacts that include social, health, and environmental burdens.
Total annual greenhouse gas emissions from petrochemical facilities in the Gulf Coast and Ohio River Valley are increasing over time. Hazardous air pollutants emitted from these facilities include known and suspected human carcinogens and reproductive, developmental and respiratory toxicants. In 2020, reported fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and PM2.5 precursor emissions from petrochemical facilities in these regions alone were associated with nearly 1,500 premature deaths nationally, equivalent to $17 billion in economic impacts.
Explore data on petrochemical facilities at the facility, county, state, and regional-level. View average reported GHG, CAP, and HAP emissions; estimated PM2.5-attributable premature deaths; and information about populations living nearby petrochemical facilities in the Ohio River Valley and Gulf Coast.
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