FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 23, 2002
12:44 PM
CONTACT: US Public Interest Research Group
Jeremiah Baumann, 202-546-9707 ext. 308
Toxic Waste Production Increased by 8 Billion Pounds in 2000
New Dioxin Data Show High Amounts of Hazardous Pollution
WASHINGTON - May 23 - Toxic waste generated by U.S. industry jumped
more than 25% in 2000, according to data released today by the U.S. EPA. The
data, part of the federal Toxics Release Inventory, established by Congress
in 1986 as the nation's community right-to-know program, show about 38
billion pounds of toxic waste managed in 2000, with another 7.1 billion
pounds released directly to the air, land, and water. Louisiana led the
nation in toxic waste generated, with more than 9 billion pounds generated,
or approximately one quarter of the nation's toxic waste. Nevada led the
nation in direct releases, with 14% of the nation's pollution, mostly from
the mining industry.
Analysis by U.S. PIRG, a public interest advocacy organization, showed
that current Bush administration proposals to weaken environmental
protections would hinder progress toward reducing this toxic pollution and
in some cases would exacerbate the pollution. The group argued that billions
of pounds of toxic chemicals released show the problems with current law
that make it nearly impossible to remove harmful chemicals from the market.
"The billions of pounds of toxic pollution and toxic waste documented
today should show our decision-makers why we need a law that phases out the
use of the most toxic chemicals," said Jeremiah Baumann, environmental
health advocate for U.S. PIRG. "But instead, we have the Bush administration
letting the very companies that dump these chemicals into our environment
re-write our environmental and public health protections."
In addition, thousands of facilities were required for the first time
in 2000 to report their releases of persistent toxic chemicals like dioxin
and mercury - chemicals that persist in ecosystems and accumulate in the
human body, dramatically increasing the chances of exposure and detrimental
health effects. Companies reported releasing 12 million pounds of these
persistent chemicals in 2000 and generated nearly 72 million pounds of waste
containing these chemicals.
"For chemicals like dioxin and mercury, this toxic pollution is almost
guaranteed exposure," said Baumann. "These millions of pounds of toxic
pollution also demonstrate a major failing in current law - chemicals go
into use with little testing and regulators have almost no ability to get
them off the market." The Toxic Substances Control Act doesn't mandate
pre-market testing for toxic chemicals and makes it very difficult for EPA
to phase out or ban a chemical.
A recently-signed international treaty would create a science-based
process for establishing protections from persistent toxic chemicals.
However, the Bush administration is proposing to implement the treaty in a
way that would address only a handful of the chemicals without establishing
a means of addressing the remaining persistent toxics.
The 2000 data represent the first year that industries have been
required to report pollution and wastes containing dioxin. Dioxin is a
notorious chemical created in industrial processes that burn or use chlorine
or chlorinate materials, and is a highly potent cancer agent also linked to
damage to the reproductive, immune, and nervous systems. The chemical is not
only toxic, but persists in the environment and accumulates in the body to
such a degree that the World Health Organization estimates a "safe" daily
intake of the most toxic form of dioxin to be 1-4 trillionths of a gram per
kilogram of body weight. Polluters reported 495 thousand grams of dioxin
released to the environment or generated in toxic waste, with about 100
thousand grams released directly to air, land, and water. The Bush
administration has stalled on issuing a long-awaited final assessment of
dioxin's health threats, the release of which would trigger the first steps
toward developing new protections against dioxin exposure.
Mercury pollution is also particularly striking in the new pollution
data: industries released 4.3 million pounds of mercury and mercury
compounds to the environment and generated 4.9 million pounds of mercury
compounds in toxic waste. By comparison, a teaspoon of mercury deposited
every year can contaminate a 20-acre lake to the point that fish are unsafe
to eat. A 2001 report by U.S. PIRG and the Environmental Working Group found
that fish contamination is already so high that eating fish exposes 1 in 4
pregnant women to levels of mercury that could threaten a developing fetus.
The Bush administration's "Clear Skies Initiative" would allow three times
more mercury pollution than full enforcement of the current Clean Air Act.
The new toxic pollution data amplify concerns about toxic waste sites
in communities, because many of the chemicals released to the environment in
such large quantities are already problems at toxic waste sites. The Bush
administration has taken a position against reinstating the "polluter pays"
tax, which taxes polluters to fund toxic waste clean-ups. Instead, the
administration is asking taxpayers to pay for clean-ups and allowing the
number of toxic waste sites cleaned up every year to slow dramatically.
Metal mining and utilities were identified as the nation's biggest
polluters, with 3.4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals released by mines,
nearly half of total chemical releases, and 1.2 billion pounds released by
the utilities and by mines. The Bush administration has proposed weakening
Clean Air Act requirements that aging utilities add modern pollution
controls when they update their plants, which could result in pollution
increases at electric utilities. The administration has also proposed
relaxing clean water rules to legalize the dumping of mining waste in rivers
and streams.
"We see billions of pounds of toxic pollution dumped every year, so
it's particularly disappointing that the Bush administration would allow the
worst polluters to pollute more," said Baumann.
The Toxics Release Inventory reflects only a fraction of the toxic
hazards in the environment. The program does not include releases from
significant pollution sources like oil wells, airports, and waste
incinerators, nor does it include significant sources of exposure to
chemicals, such as chemicals placed in products. In addition, the TRI
represents only a fraction of the chemicals on the market. While there are
approximately 80,000 chemicals on the market, according to EPA and American
Chemistry Council studies, gaps in toxics laws mean that at least some of
the data needed to perform a basic screen for health and environmental
effects were not publicly available for more than 90 percent of the
chemicals.
U.S. PIRG called on policymakers to reject proposed Bush
administration rollbacks of environmental laws in favor of better
protections, including expanding the right-to-know program to include full
information on toxic chemical hazards and requiring manufacturers to stop
using chemicals that pose a clear hazard.
U.S. PIRG is the national lobby office for the state Public Interest
Research Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan public interest
advocacy groups.
###
...............................................
Be the change
you want to see in the world.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
