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WHITE HOUSE WANTS MORE PUBLIC ACCESS TO TOXICS DATA; NEWEST STATS

Release Date: 6/26/1996
Contact Information: David Schmidt, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1578

  (San Francisco)--Vice President Al Gore today proposed increasing by about 30 percent the number of industrial facilities required to make public the levels of toxic chemicals they release into the air, water and land.  The Vice President also released the national community-right-to-know update, known as the Toxic Release Inventory.
 
     Currently, 23,000 facilities from a wide variety of industries publicly report their emission levels.  Today's proposal would require seven additional industries, approximately 6,400 facilities, also to report on their emissions.  The
industries are:  electric utilities, chemical wholesalers, solvent recovery services, coal mining, metal mining, commercial hazardous waste treatment, and petroleum bulk terminals.

     Felicia Marcus, western regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said, "People have a right to know what is in their community's air, land, and water, and where it's coming from.  With that knowledge, they can make informed decisions about issues that affect their health and environment.  This proposal to expand the number of companies required to report toxic emissions gives more people in more neighborhoods a powerful tool for improving their communities."
     
     Today the Vice President also released the Toxic Release Inventory for 1994, the most recent year with complete information.  Nationwide, levels of toxic chemicals released into the environment declined by 8.6 percent, or 186 million pounds.   In California, the amount of emissions dropped 20 percent, to 45.6 million pounds.
     
     "There us no question that community right to know is one of the great environmental success stories. In California, for example, we've seen dramatic decreases in chemical emissions after EPA's toxics data is released, thanks to communities, local governments, and businesses teaming up to implement innovative pollution reduction strategies," said Marcus.  "The public release of this data creates a strong incentive to be a better neighbor, much stronger than government regulation alone.  An informed public is one of the best weapons to fight harmful pollution and protect public health."

     The Toxics Release Inventory data are available via an on- line computer system, computer diskettes, and CD-ROM.  Summary data are on the Internet at:  https://www.epa.gov/opptintr/tri.  Companies who need assistance with reporting requirements may call 1-800-535-0202.
     
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