E.P.A. Yearly Toxics Report Shows Decrease in Chemicals Released from Facilities in New Jersey

(New York, N.Y.) The latest Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) report, issued today in record time by the E.P.A. (EPA), shows a decrease in delivers to the air and water in New Jersey. Total delivers to air, water and land by industry in the state decreased by nearly 10% between 2005 and 2006, from 20.2 million pounds to 18.2 million. Electric utilities reported the biggest reduction, from 8.7 million pounds in 2005 to 7.5 million in 2006, which represents a 14% cut. The individual facility in the state with the biggest decrease was the PSEG plant in Hudson, which reduced the amount of sulfuric, hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids released by 1.4 million pounds as a result of using a cleaner, less polluting coal as a fuel source. More reductions in chemical delivers from the plant are expected as upgrades of air pollution control equipment are completed. Last November, E.P.A. reached a major settlement with PSEG, which will bring air emissions from the Hudson facility and the Mercer Co. power plant down even more significantly in the near future. The $1.1 billion settlement is one of the biggest enforcement agreements ever reached by E.P.A. under the Clean Air Act.

"TRI is an important tool for regulators, emergency responders, businesses and communities because it helps them better understand and be aware of the types and amounts of chemicals being released in their neighborhoods," said Alan J. Steinberg, E.P.A. Regional Administrator. "It also serves to encourage industries enhance their processes and reduce the amounts of chemicals released - leading to this reduction in the amounts released into New Jersey's environment."

The TRI is the most comprehensive source of information about chemicals released into the environment. On a countrywide level, over 23,000 facilities reported on approximately 650 chemicals for calendar year 2006 The TRI provides Americans with vital information about chemicals released into their communities, and is an important instrument for industries to gauge their progress in reducing pollution. Thanks to enhancements in EPA's system, the vast majority of facilities now report data electronically and detailed information about specific facilities is more readily accessible to the public.

The TRI tracks the chemicals released by facilities specified by the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 and its amendments. The Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990 also mandates that TRI data include information on toxic chemicals treated on-site, recycled, and burned for energy recovery.

The TRI data and background information are accessible to the public at: http://www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri06/index.htm

Communities can also quickly and easily identify local facilities and chemical delivers by using the TRI explorer mapping tool, accessible at: http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer.

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