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ENVIRONMENT
Total releases of toxic chemicals to air, land, and water decreased to 7.1 billion lb in 2000 from 7.8 billion lb in 1999, according to EPA's latest Toxics Release Inventory report. The report, for the first time, contains data on releases of some persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals, such as 2,3,7,8-dibenzo-p-dioxin and related chemicals.
Of the total chemical releases that were reported in 2000, 27% were to air; 4% to water; and 69% to land on- and off-site. The manufacturing industries, including chemical producers, accounted for 32% of all releases. According to the report, the chemical industry released about 661 million lb of toxics in 2000. Of this total, 204 million lb was injected underground, often into deep, confined, isolated formations below potable water supplies, or into oil and gas wells. For most chemical manufacturers and processors, the reporting threshold is 25,000 lb, and for facilities that use chemicals, it is 10,000 lb. For the majority of persistent, bioaccumulative chemicals, the reporting threshold is 100 lb, and for some highly persistent or highly bioaccumulative chemicals, the threshold is 10 lb. For dioxins, the reporting threshold is 0.1 g. Releases of dioxins reported from all industries totaled about 220 lb in 2000. These are by-products of many industrial processes that burn chlorine-containing materials. C. T. (Kip) Howlett Jr., executive director of the Chlorine Chemistry Council, points out that "only a small part" of the dioxins that are generated in industrial production ever get into the environment. "This is because industry carefully treats and disposes of the vast majority of its dioxins by-products in an environmentally responsible manner," he says. "Regulations and voluntary industry actions have reduced dioxins emissions by 92% over the past 15 years." However, Stephen Lester, science director for the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, disagrees. "Health effects have already been found at existing body burden levels, and additional exposures [to dioxins] make it more likely that our health will suffer," he says. |
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