Washington Would Lose Pollution Data from 61 Facilities
SEATTLE– A new WashPIRG analysis of a proposed Bush Administration rule
reveals that residents of Washington would lose valuable information
about the amounts and type of harmful chemicals discharged by
industrial facilities in their neighborhoods if the rule is finalized.
Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson proposed changes to the
Toxics Release Inventory Program (TRI) in October 2005 that would
significantly decrease the information that the public and state and
local officials have about harmful chemicals released into Washington’s
water, air, and land.
“On
the anniversary of the deadliest chemical accident in history in
Bhopal, India, Administrator Johnson wants to help corporate polluters
hide toxic pollution,” stated Megan Blanck-Weiss, WashPIRG Field
Associate. “The Bush Administration’s proposal puts corporations first
and communities last.”
In
Washington, the local impact could be widespread. Analysis of the 2003
Toxics Release Inventory by Grassroots Connections and the National
Environmental Trust showed that:
• 61 would no longer be required to report toxic chemical releases to the public;
• Washington would lose all information about releases, transfers, and
disposal of 1, 3 Butadiene, which has been linked to respiratory
problems.
• Specific communities in Washington will be most affected. Communities
in 17 zip codes will lose all the pollution information about chemical
releases in their neighborhoods.
In
October 2005, EPA Administrator Johnson proposed to cut the amount of
pollution information that companies are required to disclose. These
changes to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) would be three-fold:
• A rule to propose that companies be allowed to release ten times as
much pollution before they are required to report their releases;
• A rule that would allow companies to withhold information about some
of the most dangerous chemicals, such as lead and mercury;
• A notification to Congress that Administrator Johnson intends to
release a rule next fall to change the frequency of reporting to the
program from every year to every other year.
The
TRI program is a pollution disclosure program. Since 1987, companies
have been required to report toxic releases to air, land, and water, as
well as toxic waste that is treated, burned, recycled, or disposed of.
Approximately 26,000 industrial facilities report information about any
of the 650 chemicals in the program.
The
TRI program was established in 1986, following a devastating chemical
accident in Bhopal, India. December 4th marks the twenty-sixth
anniversary of this accident, where thousands of people immediately
lost their lives from exposure to chemicals, and tens of thousands have
since died from continued contamination. Soon thereafter, Congress
passed and President Reagan signed the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act, which established the Toxics Release Inventory.
The
Toxics Release Inventory has been credited with a wide range of
successes. Since the TRI program began, disposals or releases of the
original 299 chemicals tracked have dropped nearly 60 percent. A U.S.
PIRG Education Fund analysis showed that releases of chemicals linked
to health effects have decreased as well. Between 1995 and 2000,
releases to air and water of chemicals known to cause cancer declined
by 41 percent.
EPA’s
own research has shown that the public, companies, governments,
academics, and investment groups have all used the TRI program. A May
2003 report by EPA highlighted twenty different state governments
including Washington that use the TRI program for environmental
targeting, risk assessments, regulations, legislation, quality
assurance and control, and other uses.
“The
TRI program has proven that requiring polluters to report their
pollution creates an incentive for these facilities to reduce their
pollution,” said Blanck-Weiss. “But the Bush administration wants to
take this spotlight off polluters and leave the public and our
communities in the dark about pollution in our state.”
