(PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 16, 2013) Total toxic air delivers in 2011 declined eight percent from 2010, mostly because of decreases in hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions, even while total delivers of toxic chemicals increased for the 2nd year in a row, according to the E.P.A. yearly Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report published today. In EPA's mid-Atlantic Region - Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia - TRI data indicate a decrease of 32.5 million pounds or 13.8 % of chemical delivers as compared to 2010.
The yearly TRI provides citizens with vital information about their communities. The TRI plan collects information on certain toxic chemical delivers to the air, water and land, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities by facilities across the country. TRI data are submitted annually to EPA, states and tribes by facilities in industry sectors such as manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste facilities.
"The Toxics Release Inventory provides widespread access to valuable environmental information. It plays a critical role in EPA's efforts to hold polluters accountable and identify and acknowledge those who take steps to prevent pollution," said E.P.A. Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Since 1998, we have recorded a steady decline in the amount of TRI chemicals released into the air, and since 2009 alone, we have seen in excess of a 100 million pound decrease in TRI air pollutants entering our communities. This remarkable success is due in part to the TRI plan and concerted efforts by industry, regulators and public interest groups to clean up the air we all depend upon."
Among the HAPs showing decline were hydrochloric acid and mercury. Likely reasons for the decreases seen over the past several years include installation of control technologies at coal fired power plants and a shift to other fuel sources.. Delivers into surface water decreased three percent and Delivers to land increased 19 percent since 2010, with the latter again due primarily to the metal mining sector, as explained below.
Many of the Delivers from TRI facilities are regulated under various E.P.A. programs and requirements designed to limit harm to people's health and the environment.
The 2011 TRI data show that 4.09 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released into the environment (i.e., air, water or land), an eight percent increase from 2010. The difference is mainly due to increases in land disposal at metal mines, which typically involve large facilities handling large volumes of material. In this sector, even a small change in the chemical composition of the ore being mined - which E.P.A. understands is one of the asserted reasons for the increase in total reported Delivers - can lead to big changes in the amount of toxic chemicals reported nationally. Other industry sectors also saw smaller increases in releases, including the hazardous waste management sector.
E.P.A. has improved this year's TRI national analysis report by adding new information about facility efforts to reduce pollution, insights into why air Delivers are declining, and an enhanced analysis of Delivers on tribal lands. With this report and EPA's web-based TRI tools, citizens can access information about TRI-listed toxic chemical Delivers in their communities and across the country.
Facilities must report their toxic chemical Delivers to E.P.A. under the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) by the beginning of July each year. The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 also requires information on waste management activities related to TRI chemicals. Also, EPA's TRI mobile application, myRTK, geographically displays nearby facilities that report to the TRI program, as well as facilities with E.P.A. air, water or hazardous waste plan permits.
More on the 2011 TRI analysis and TRI web-based tools: http://www.epa.gov/tri/NationalAnalysis
More on facility efforts to reduce toxic chemical releases: http://www.epa.gov/tri/p2
More on EPA's TRI mobile application, myRTK: http://www.epa.gov/tri/myrtk/
