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EPA Issues New Toxics Report -- States Make Progress in Decreasing Emissions

Release Date: 5/23/2002
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

     The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released its annual report on the amount of toxic emissions released throughout the country. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2000 shows continued good news with decreases in emissions in several areas. Region 6 states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas are ranked as follows.

     Arkansas increased from 32nd to 30th for on-site releases, even though the state achieved  a decrease in on-site releases from last year's 36.0 million pounds to 35.6 million pounds.

     Louisiana increased from 10th largest to ninth largest in on-site releases of TRI chemicals, even though the total on-site releases decreased from last year's 150.5 million to 148.9 million pounds. Louisiana achieved a large decrease in surface water discharges.

     New Mexico decreased in rank from ninth to 15th in total on-site releases. New Mexico decreased its on-site land emissions from last year's 169.5 million to 122.0 million pounds, primarily through a decrease in land releases from 167.7 million to 120.7 million pounds.

     Oklahoma remains ranked 33rd for on-site releases with a decrease in on-site releases from last year's 32.9 million to 29.0 million pounds. This was largely due to a decrease in underground injection.  

     Texas remains the fifth largest for on-site releases of TRI chemicals at 272 million pounds. Texas attained a decrease in releases over last year's 289 million pounds by reducing releases to land from 54.2 million pounds to 38.3 million pounds.

      The 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act requires industrial facilities to report publicly quantities of toxic chemicals that their facilities annually release into the air, water and land.  EPA analyzes the submitted data. Overall, the TRI includes information on releases and other wastes for more than 650 toxic chemicals and chemical compounds. TRI reporting for 2000 included reporting of persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs) for the first time, including dioxin. EPA's interactive web site allows the public to sort and view data by facility, chemical, geographic area, industry, and at the state or national level.

     The 2000 Toxics Release Inventory data and background information on the TRI program are available at: www.epa.gov/tri