PANUPS: Public Right to Know About Toxics is Under Attack

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Tue, 03 Jan 2006 20:24:32 GMT

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PANUPS: Public Right to Know About Toxics is Under Attack

 

 

Public Right to Know About Toxics is Under Attack

January 3, 2006

 

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to radically

cut back on the amount of information disclosed to the public about

toxic chemicals used in their communities. The federal Toxics Release

Inventory (TRI) currently requires companies to publicly disclose

information about certain toxic chemicals they are releasing into the

air, land, and water. EPA's proposed changes would allow corporations

to dump more toxic chemicals without disclosure, and to update the

public less frequently on toxic releases.

 

The Washington Post reports, " ...analysis of the rule's effect showed

that 922 of the nation's more than 33,000 residential Zip codes would

lose 100 percent of detailed pollution data if companies migrated to

the short form. "

 

The Toxics Release Inventory is an invaluable resource for community

members working to clean up their neighborhoods and researching why

they may be getting sick. The TRI was created following a massive leak

of highly toxic gas from a pesticide plant that killed at least 15,000

nearby residents in Bhopal, India in 1984. Alarmed community members

and experts in the U.S. demanded to know exactly which chemicals they

were being exposed to in their own cities and towns. Despite fierce

opposition from chemical companies and the Reagan Administration,

citizens convinced Congress to pass the Emergency Planning and

Community Right to Know Act in 1985, which includes the TRI provisions

that require companies to report releases of certain toxic chemicals.

EPA then publishes this information in an accessible online database.

 

Data collected through the TRI program have served as a cornerstone of

community efforts to fight pollution in their backyards as well as

industry programs to reduce toxic emissions. In the city of Richmond,

California, for example, community environmental groups used TRI data

as one of their sources to identify the Chevron oil refinery as the

number one polluter in the city. Alarmed citizens used their findings

to pressure Chevron to close down older portions of the plant and

install new equipment to reduce toxic releases. " The [TRI] information

is very powerful in raising the community's awareness and in getting

them involved.The company said that they are not a problem, but the

information enables us to show that there is a concern, " noted Henry

Clark, Executive Director of Richmond's West County Toxics Coalition.

 

EPA is now proposing to weaken this highly successful and popular TRI

program with three changes that will endanger public health and the

environment throughout the country and internationally. These changes

will:

 

* Cut this successful program in half by eliminating every other

year of reporting;

* Allow companies to release ten times more toxins than currently

allowed before having to report how much pollution they produce and

release;

* Permit facilities to hide information on low volumes of

persistent bioacculuative toxins (PBTs), which are dangerous even in

very small quantities. PBTs are chemicals that are toxic, persist in

the environment, travel long distances through air and water currents,

and build up in through the food chain and in people's bodies.

 

These changes would drastically reduce the number of facilities that

are required to report their toxic releases--meaning that fewer

communities will be able to use TRI data to track chemicals that could

be affecting their health. Less frequent reporting would make

obtaining up-to-date information and tracking trends more difficult

for the public.

 

The TRI web site currently provides everyone with access to the

Internet with detailed data on exactly where certain toxic chemicals

are being used, and how they are disposed. Neighbors can view data on

the toxics used in a factory nearby, or levels of toxic pollution

dumped in particular postal codes, or at the county, state, regional

or national level. The TRI web site can also generate maps that

identify the most toxic counties in the state or nation, and what

industries are producing and emitting these toxins.

 

Linking toxics release information with census data has allowed

environmental justice researchers to document how minorities and

low-income people are disproportionately affected by toxic pollution.

Environmental justice groups in Louisiana, for example, have used the

TRI database to reveal the alarmingly high concentration of industrial

toxic releases in African-American communities along the Mississippi

River corridor known as " Cancer Alley. " Growing public knowledge of

toxics released in this region has allowed local environmental groups

to sound the alarm about the need to monitor and cleanup toxic

substances in the residue of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

 

EPA is accepting public comments on the proposed reporting cutbacks

until January 13th. Since the agency announced plans to weaken TRI

pollution reporting on September 21st, hundreds of organizations and

thousands of individuals have voiced their opposition to the proposed

cutbacks. During a " TRI Day of Action " in December 2005, doctors,

first responders, workers and public officials spoke out against the

EPA plans at a national press event.

 

As a result of this coordinated effort, opposition to the TRI rollback

is gaining traction in Congress, the media and among the general

public. Several U.S. Senators, including Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and

John McCain (R-AZ), sent a letter to EPA expressing their concern over

the proposals. More than 100 TRI stories have appeared in national and

regional newspapers, including ten newspaper editorials against the

proposals. The public watchdog organization OMB Watch has tracked more

than 15,000 official public comments sent to EPA against the proposals.

 

Take action: You can help keep TRI strong and up-to-date. Tell EPA not

to weaken the public's right to know and to maintain the TRI in its

current form as a vital source of critical environmental health data.

 

To send your comment on TRI to the EPA, go to our PAN Action Alert.

 

For more information, see http://www.ombwatch.org/article/archive/97

 

Sources:

Toxics Release Inventory Program, U.S. EPA. 2003. How Are the Toxics

Release Inventory Data Used? Government, Business, Academic, and

Citizen Uses. EPA-260-R-002-004 May, 2003.

http://www.epa.gov/tri/guide_docs/2003_datausepaper.pdf

 

OMB Watch. 2005. " More than 15,000 People (and Counting) Oppose Toxics

Release Inventory Changes " in Community Right-to-Know eUpdate,

November / December 2005.

 

Orum, Paul. 1990. " Citizens Target Giant Refinery. " Interview with

Henry Clark in 1990 October Working Notes Newsletter

http://www.crtk.org/library-newsletters-2.cfm?date=1990-10-01+00:00:00 & docID=519

 

Skrzycki, Cindy " Chemical-Data Plan Catalyzes Opposition " Washington

Post 1/3/06.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/02/AR2006010201730.\

html

 

 

Contact: PANNA

 

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