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ALBANY---A dozen state Attorneys General have called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw proposed regulations that would sharply reduce the amount of information available to the public about toxic chemicals released by industry in communities across the nation.
The Attorneys General submitted detailed written comments challenging the legality of proposed EPA regulations that would scale back the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said: "The Toxics Release Inventory has been extremely successful in raising public awareness about chemical hazards in communities from coast to coast. Public disclosure has proven to be a strong incentive for polluters to reduce their use of toxic chemicals. This move by EPA appears to be yet another poorly considered notion to appease a few polluting constituents at the expense of a valuable program."
After the 1984 deadly release of toxic chemicals at the Union Carbide facility in Bhopal, India, Congress responded by establishing the Toxics Release Inventory. TRI is a federal computerized database that provides information on the type and quantity of toxic chemicals released into the air, water and soil. The bill was signed into law by President Reagan and data has been collected and made available to the public since 1987. Industrial facilities are required to report information to the EPA annually, which is then compiled into a public report.
Disclosure of public information about toxic releases has prompted significant reductions in the release of toxic chemicals across the nation. For example: the Boeing Company reduced its toxic chemical releases by over 82 percent since 1991; Monsanto reduced its toxic air emissions by over 90 percent between 1988 and 1992; and the Eastman Chemical Company of Tennessee has reduced its releases of TRI chemicals by 83 percent since 1988.
EPA is proposing changes that would significantly weaken the TRI in the following ways:
-- Raising the baseline reporting threshold for chemical releases from the current 500 pounds to 5,000 pounds.
-- Reducing the reporting for some of the most dangerous toxic chemicals - - those that are persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic - - a category that includes lead, mercury and PCBs.
--Considering cutting the requirement to report toxic chemical releases from once a year to once every two years.
The Attorneys General believe that such changes would significantly reduce the amount of toxic chemical release information available to the public. Densely populated neighborhoods are especially at risk. A community in western New York, Tonawanda, is a striking example of the possible effects of these changes. In one Tonawanda neighborhood with 45,000 people, environmental releases of 8,100 pounds of neurotoxic chemicals, 3,100 pounds of chemicals that may cause respiratory problems, 2,300 pounds of chemicals that cause developmental problems and 650 pounds of chemicals that may cause blood disorders could go unreported under the proposed weaker EPA regulation.
The comments to the EPA can be found at www.oag.state.ny.us and were written by New York Assistant Attorney General Andrew Frank and Chief Scientist Michael Surgan, Ph.D. of the New York Attorney General's Environmental Protection Bureau. 1-13-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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