By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, 18 June (AP) -- Toxic chemicals dumped into waterways and on the land increased, but less air pollution helped reduce overall industrial releases of toxic chemicals by 4 percent from 1995 to 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency reported Thursday.
The EPA’s annual report on toxic releases covers more than 500 hazardous chemicals
released into the environment at more than 22,000 industrial and manufacturing sites
nationwide. The report, which reflects data submitted to the agency last year from 1996
emissions, showed that 2.4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the air,
water, land or put into deep wells by injection.
That’s about 100 million pounds less than in 1995 -a year that also showed a decline.
The overall numbers reflected a continuing trend of fewer releases since the reporting
began a decade ago, although companies are generating more toxic waste during production.
"Putting information about toxic chemical pollution directly into the hands of
citizens has kept millions of pounds of chemicals out of their lives," said Vice
President Al Gore in a statement accompanying the report’s release. The
administration has sought to expand the reporting requirements to include more chemicals
and more industries. For example, electric utilities are not covered by the 1996 reports.
The reporting law covers only specific economic sectors. The EPA also would like to
require public reporting of toxic chemicals used in production, a figure environmentalists
contend gives a clear picture of potential environmental and health risks. The chemical
industry and other businesses have objected to releasing chemical use information, arguing
that could allow competitors to learn about proprietary production data.
The decade-long toxic release reports -though limited in scope have been cited by environmentalists and government officials as one of the most successful tools to reduce toxic pollution by industry. Since 1988, according to the report released Thursday, toxic releases have declined 46 percent. "When information is made publicly available we can make great strides in protecting the health of our communities," said EPA Administrator Carol Browner in a statement. But some environmentalists maintain that the annual report gives a false picture of the progress being made in reducing industrial toxic pollution. The overall quantities of waste managed -but not all necessarily released into the environment -increased by 1.9 percent between 1991 and 1996, said Allison Lapland, of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, citing EPA numbers. "This indicates that industries are failing to reduce the toxic waste they manage, and failing to prevent toxic pollution at the source." Even emissions released directly into the environment from industrial facilities show an uneven trend, depending on where they are released, according to the 1996 data. While there was a sharp decline of nearly 15 percent in the amount of chemicals put into deep injection wells where they could affect groundwater, the amount of chemicals released into surface water increased in 1996 by about 9 percent, or by 13.5 million pounds. Chemicals released into the air declined by about 7 percent, or by 110 million pounds, while the amount of chemicals dispersed on land increased by about 9 percent, or by 26 million pounds. The chemical industry, which accounts for the largest volume of toxic releases, also led in the amount of reduced releases. It was followed by primary metals, electrical equipment, pulp and paper, and petroleum refining, according to the EPA. (ENDS)