Matti&Keti | North Pole, Arctic Ocean, sea ice | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Pole,_Arctic_Ocean,_sea_ice_04.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
On April 19, 2021, an oil refining chemical infiltrated the water of a small Alaskan town. A chemical solvent called sulfolane had spilled, contaminating the groundwater.
Sulfolane is an industrial solvent used in more than 150 locations around the world, including refineries in California, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Its human health impacts are not yet well-studied. In limited animal studies high exposures has caused hyperactivity and convulsions, developmental and reproductive problems, and death.
Linda Brown’s family finished drilling a water well, four days later they turned on the evening news to see images of an oil refinery a mile from their trailer. The Brown’s water was later tested, indicating 283 parts per billion (ppb) of sulfolane, well above the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regional screening level of 20 ppb.