March
19,
2003
Page
1of
3
U.
S.
PIRG
Report
Toxic
Releases
and
Health:
A
Review
of
Pollution
Data
and
Current
Knowledge
on
the
Health
Effects
of
Toxic
Chemicals
(
January
2003)
March
19,2003
The
report
summarizes
the
amounts
of
the
most
hazardous
chemicals
released
by
the
major
sources
for
TRI
reporting
year
2000.
Although
the
report
is
not
a
risk
assessment
­
it
does
not
draw
conclusions
potential
health
effects
of
TRI
releases
­
it
does
refer
to
health
assessments
that
have
been
conducted
for
certain
communities
in
proximity
to
major
sources.

The
report
only
examines
air
releases
and
direct
surface
water
releases.
Transfers
to
POTWs
are
not
included.
Morover,
the
report
discusses
total
releases
to
air
and
water
combined.
Amounts
of
direct
surface
water
releases
are
presented
in
selected
tables.

Organization
There
are
four
sections
summarizing
combined
TRI
air
and
direct
water
releases,
organized
by
health
effects:


Cancer­
Causing
Chemicals

Developmental
and
Reproductive
Toxicants

Suspected
Neurological
Toxicants

Suspected
Respiratory
Toxicants
TRI
chemicals
are
grouped
into
these
sections
based
on
the
classification
scheme
used
under
the
California
Safe
Drinking
Water
and
Toxic
Enforcement
Act
(
also
known
as
Proposition
65).

A
fifth
section
summarizes
releases
of
dioxins,
which
were
added
to
TRI
beginning
in
the
2000
reporting
year.

Each
section
summarizes
total
releases
to
air
and
water,
and
identifies,
in
descending
order
by
amount
released:


The
top
10
chemicals

The
top
20
zip
codes

The
top
10
industrial
sectors

The
top
"
parent
companies"
(
e.
g.
the
total
amount
released
by
all
Dow
Chemical
facilities)
Each
section
also
includes
a
"
community
profile"
for
the
zip
code
with
the
highest
total
amount
released.

Appendices
contain
state,
county,
and
facility
rankings
of
releases
by
chemical
categories.
Another
appendix
ranks
states
by
cumulative
(
1987­
2000)
releases
by
chemical
category.
March
19,
2003
Page
2of
3
Dioxins
Dioxins,
summarized
separately
in
the
report
because
of
their
extreme
toxicity,
are
reported
to
TRI
in
units
of
grams
rather
than
pounds.
Although
the
report
does
not
address
direct
surface
water
releases
of
dioxins,
it
does
note
that
7,000
grams
of
dioxins
were
released
to
both
air
and
water.

Persistent
Bioaccumulative
Toxic
Chemicals
(
PBTs)

The
report
does
not
specifically
address
PBTs.
However,
it
does
note
the
combined
air
and
water
releases
of:


Lead
(
275,000
pounds)


Lead
Compounds
(
1,300,000
pounds)


Mercury
(
30,000
pounds)


Mercury
Compounds
(
136,000
pounds)

Summary
of
Water
Data
for
Carcinogens
Although
rankings
are
based
on
total
releases
to
air
and
water
combined,
direct
surface
water
release
amounts
are
presented
in
most
tables.
Here
are
the
top
10
chemicals
released
directly
to
surface
water:


Formaldehyde
(
408,143
pounds)


Acetaldehyde
(
195,014
pounds)


Chloroform
(
56,341
pounds)


Naphthalene
(
48,855
pounds)


Benzene
(
22,660)


Dichloromethane
(
10,292
pounds)


1,3­
Butadiene
(
1,163
pounds)


Tetrachloroethylene
(
1,159
pounds)


Chloroethane
(
693
pounds)


Trichloroethylene
(
593
pounds)

Five
cities
(
identified
by
zip
code)
that
were
ranked
in
the
top
10
for
total
releases
had
the
following
direct
surface
water
releases
of
carcinogens:


Geismar,
LA
(
19,447
pounds)


Longview,
WA
(
13,938
pounds)


Rochester,
NY
(
8,933
pounds)


Georgetown,
SC
(
4,705
pounds)


Louisville,
KY
(
1,197
pounds)
March
19,
2003
Page
3of
3
The
top
10
Industries,
ranked
by
total
releases
to
air
and
water,
reported
the
following
direct
surface
water
releases:


Electric
Services
(
481,611
pounds)


Pulp
Mills
(
343,878
pounds)


Paper
Mills
(
198,116
pounds)


Plastic
Materials
(
108,735
pounds)


Industrial
Organic
Chemicals
(
156,469
pounds)


Paperboard
Mills
(
45,556
pounds)


Petroleum
Refining
(
42,103
pounds)


Pharmaceutical
Preparations
(
1,950
pounds)


Reconstituted
Wood
Products
(
1,101
pounds)


Plastic
Foam
Products
(
5
pounds)

Parent
companies
releasing
carcinogens
are
ranked
by
total
air
and
water
releases.
Water
releases
of
parent
companies
are
not
presented
in
the
report.

According
the
facility
appendix,
a
Weyerhaeuser
paper
mill
in
Longview,
Washington
was
the
single
largest
direct
surface
water
discharger
of
carcinogens
(
12,836
pounds).

Geographic
Distribution
of
TRI
Chemical
Releases
In
general,
the
report
notes
that
the
"
Sunbelt"
has
replaced
the
"
Rust
Belt"
as
the
leading
region
for
release
of
toxic
chemicals.
According
to
the
report,
13
southern
states
are
responsible
for
48
percent
of
all
air
and
water
carcinogen
releases.
Texas
ranks
first
in
combined
air
and
water
releases
of
carcinogens
and
dioxins
in
reporting
year
2000.
Texas
also
ranked
first
in
cumulative
(
1987­
2000)
releases
of
carcinogens
and
reproductive,
neurological,
and
respiratory
toxicants.

Since
1987,
the
first
TRI
reporting
year,
10
zip
codes
have
received
68
percent
of
all
air
and
water
releases
of
reproductive
toxicants.
