Discharges of Toxic Chemicals Decline

U.S. industries release 6.2 billion pounds of toxic chemicals annually, less than in past years, although relatively high levels of lead and other harmful substances persist in the environment, according to federal data released Monday.

Despite the volume of chemicals being reported, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “toxic release inventory” shows the nation’s industrial sector producing fewer harmful chemicals. Releases during 2001, the most recent reporting year, are down 15% from the year before and have been cut by more than half since 1988, the EPA said.

Western mining states top the list of toxic dischargers. Mining of metals accounts for nearly half of the nation’s toxic chemical releases. Nevada reported 783 million pounds, Utah reported 767 million pounds and Arizona reported 606 million pounds of toxic chemicals. Some of the materials are used to extract or process ore and some occur naturally in rock.

Electric utilities accounted for 17% of the discharges, led by major coal-burning states such as Ohio and Indiana. One-tenth of the releases came from the chemical industry. California, home to one of the world’s largest economies, ranked 27th among states, with discharges totaling about 58 million pounds annually, according to the EPA.

Only 650 of the tens of thousands of toxic chemicals used in industry must be reported. Chemicals known to cause cancer, neurological damage or reproductive harm are reported, while other pollutants such as sewage or chemicals that form urban smog are not.

About 25,000 companies are required to report under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. The law requires power producers, manufacturers, pulp and paper mills and petrochemical plants, among others, to share the information with the public, often leading to community demands for cleanups.

“This progress has been hugely successful in creating a healthier and cleaner environment. Chemical industry executives want to respond as forcefully and as quickly as possible to people who live in and around their communities,” said Chris VandenHeuvel, spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, which represents 90% of U.S. chemical production.

But the data show an upswing in the release of at least one highly toxic substance, dioxin, which rose to 148,759 grams, although the EPA says the long-term trend is toward reduced dioxin.

Because of a change in reporting rules, more companies were obligated to disclose their lead releases. The results show 443 million pounds of lead released to the environment, 18% more than in the previous year.

In California, the number of facilities reporting on lead releases grew from 107 in 2000 to 600 in 2001, and the amount of lead pollution they reported increased from 5 million pounds to 7.3 million pounds.

Much of the lead found in the environment today comes from mining tailings, fertilizers and from smokestacks at fossil fuel power plants. It used to be in gasoline and traces can still be found in old, residential paint. At very high levels it can cause anemia and kidney damage, but recent studies show that at low levels it can impair learning development in children.

The EPA pointed to the metal industry in Alaska as one significant source of the newly reported lead poison. Metal mining operations in Alaska reported 145 million pounds of lead pollution in 2001, up from 136 million pounds in 2000.

Toxic releases should be noticeably lower in the next reporting cycle, because the mining industry won a court decision that exempts it from reporting all the toxic chemicals released during metals extraction.

Polakovic reported from Los Angeles, Shogren from Washington.