Toxic Chemical Releases Up 5% in 2002, EPA Says
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Toxic chemical releases into the environment rose 5% in 2002, marking only the second such increase reported by the Environmental Protection Agency in nearly two decades.
Some 4.79 billion pounds were released in 2002, the latest year for which figures are available, not including releases from metal mining, the EPA reported. Last year, the EPA reported that chemical releases in 2001 had declined 13% from a year earlier.
