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Toxic waste generated
by U.S. industry jumped more than 25 percent in 2000, according
to data released on May 21, 2002 by the U.S. EPA.
The data, part
of the federal Toxics Release Inventory, established by Congress
in 1986 as the nation's community right-to-know program, show
about 38 billion pounds of toxic waste managed in 2000, with
another 7.1 billion pounds released directly to the air, land
and water. Louisiana led the nation in toxic waste generated,
with more than nine billion pounds generated.
Analysis by U.S.
PIRG, a public interest advocacy organization, showed that
current Bush administration proposals to weaken environmental
protections would hinder progress toward reducing this toxic
pollution and in some cases would exacerbate the pollution.
The group argued that billions of pounds of toxic chemicals
released show the problems with current law that make it nearly
impossible to remove harmful chemicals from the market.
Industries
released 4.3 million pounds of mercury and mercury compounds
to the environment and generated 4.9 million pounds of mercury
compounds in toxic waste.
By comparison,
a teaspoon of mercury deposited every year can contaminate
a 20-acre lake to the point that fish are unsafe to eat. A
2001 report by U.S. PIRG and the Environmental Working Group
found that fish contamination is already so high that eating
fish exposes 1 in 4 pregnant women to levels of mercury that
could threaten a developing fetus.
Metal mining and
utilities were identified as the nation's biggest polluters,
with 3.4 billion pounds of toxic
chemicals released by mines, nearly half of total
chemical releases, and 1.2 billion
pounds released by the utilities and by mines.
The Toxics Release
Inventory reflects only a fraction of the toxic hazards in
the environment. The program does not include releases from
significant pollution sources like oil wells, airports, and
waste incinerators, nor does it include significant sources
of exposure to chemicals, such as chemicals placed in products.
In addition, the
TRI represents only a fraction of the chemicals on the market.
While there are approximately 80,000 chemicals on the market,
according to EPA and American Chemistry Council studies, gaps
in toxics laws mean that at least some of the data needed
to perform a basic screen for health and environmental effects
were not publicly available for more than 90 percent of the
chemicals.
U.S. PIRG is the
national lobbying office for the state Public Interest Research
Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan public interest
advocacy groups.
U.S.
PIRG May 23, 2002
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