"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday cited the BP Whiting Refinery for violating federal air standards by releasing a cancer-causing toxin in waste from 2003 to 2008, which at times reached 16 times the acceptable limit, EPA officials said.

BP spokesman Scott Dean said the company reported the possible violations to the EPA and that the amount of benzene emitted was small enough that it didn't present a danger to public health.

The EPA alleges BP failed to manage and treat benzene waste from the petroleum refinery as required by the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants."

Bowdeya Tweh and Lauri Harvey Keagle report for the Northwest Indiana Times June 2, 2009. [2]