Study tracks over 3.2 million tonnes of toxic chemicals from industrial sources in 1998

Data from electricity generators and hazardous waste facilities now included

Coal and oil burning electricity producers were responsible for over 25 percent of all releases (on- and off-site) reported to federal authorities in the United States and Canada in 1998—over 436,000 tonnes of chemicals in all. Some 43 percent of all reported industrial pollution released into the air came from electric utilities.

Included for the first time in CEC's annual Taking Stock analysis, electricity producers ranked #1 for on-and off-site pollution releases in 1998, followed by the primary metals sector, the chemical industry and hazardous waste management sectors (another newly-added industry sector).

Industrial facilities in North America in 1998 released more than 1.6 million tonnes of chemicals, the weight equivalent of 900,000 minivans, enough to stretch bumper to bumper from New York City to Tijuana or from Vancouver to Kingston. Carcinogens comprise about 15 percent of the total amount released on- and off-site; much of which (84,286 tonnes, or 34 percent) is released to the air.

Taking Stock, produced by the CEC (the Montreal-based environmental commission established by the NAFTA partners), analyzes data from the United States and Canada to provide a continental perspective on industrial pollution of the air, land and water, on the volume of waste sent for treatment, recycling and disposal, and on trends over time. The report analyzes data on 165 chemical pollutants common to both national reporting systems. Data for Mexico are not yet available.

This year, the report covers over 3.2 million tonnes of chemicals released and transferred in North America in 1998, more than twice the size of the matched data set available for analysis on a continent-wide basis for 1997 (1.3 million tonnes). It also analyzes changes from 1997 to 1998 and over a four-year span, 1995–98.

Over those four years, the report shows, there has been an overall decrease in the quantities of substances released on- and off-site (a drop of over 49,000 tonnes, or 4 percent), a 35-percent increase in off-site releases (59,000 tonnes) and an 11-percent increase in off-site transfers to treatment or sewage treatment plants (20,300 tonnes). "The downward trend in on-site releases from 1995 through 1998 certainly is encouraging," said CEC Executive Director Janine Ferretti. "At the same time, the increases in releases and transfers off-site are of concern. The data from 1998 suggest that these increases may have peaked, but it’s too soon to say if this represents a trend," she said.

The addition of US data for electric utilities, hazardous waste management and solvent recovery facilities, coal mines and chemical wholesalers has allowed the CEC to create a much larger matched data set for the United States and Canada. Also, thanks to changes in Canada's reporting system in 1998, this year's Taking Stock report includes for the first time information on chemicals sent for recycling and energy recovery.

"With the availability of new information for the data sets, we've been able to put together the clearest picture yet of the major industrial sources of pollution in North America," said Ms. Ferretti. "As the pool of comparable information from the three countries grows, the usefulness of Taking Stock to governments, industry and the public in identifying areas where more work is needed to reduce the pollutants we put into our environment will only improve." On last month's announcement by the Mexican government that a bill proposing mandatory reporting would be sent to the Mexican Congress this fall, Ms. Ferretti added, "we certainly welcome Mexico's recently announced plan to move to a mandatory pollutant reporting system, which will make it possible for us to compile and compare data from all three NAFTA countries."

The data collected by the national programs currently do not include all chemicals nor all sources of pollution such as dry cleaners, service stations, cars and trucks. Also not covered (due to differences in the US and Canadian reporting systems) are releases from the metal mining sector.

Removing the newly added industry sectors from consideration (as the matched data set contains no historical data for them), North American on- and off-site releases of pollution were 4 percent lower in 1998 compared with 1995 levels. These releases dropped 3 percent in 1998 alone, compared with 1997 levels.

The analysis also shows a continuing trend among businesses to release less Pollution directly from industrial sites. On-site releases in 1998 were 12 percent lower than in 1995.

Meanwhile, a strong trend among industries in recent years towards sending pollution off-site for disposal elsewhere may have peaked. Off-site releases rose dramatically from 1995 to 1997 (up 41 percent) then dropped in 1998 (down 4 percent).

Just five jurisdictions-Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Indiana-ccounted for over 30 percent of all on- and off-site releases in North America in 1998. The five with the largest total reported amounts—Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Indiana and Ontario—accounted for over 35 percent of all releases and transfers in North America in 1998

Ohio had the largest on-site air emissions, on-site land releases and off-site transfers to recycling. Texas had the largest on-site underground injection. Pennsylvania has the largest on-site surface water discharges. Ontario had the largest off-site releases. Michigan reported the largest off-site transfers to energy recovery. Indiana reported the second-largest off-site transfers to recycling.

Other report highlights for 1998:

• Total releases and transfers of pollutants from North American industrial facilities dropped 2 percent overall from 1995 to 1998. After an increase from 1996 to 1997, the analysis showed a decrease of 3 percent from 1997 to 1998.
• The combined total of releases and transfers of chemical pollution in 1998 was over 3.2 million tonnes. Of this total, about a quarter (854,000 tonnes) was released into the air and another quarter (783,200 tonnes) released to water and land. Some 9 percent of total releases and transfers came from Canadian sources while 91 percent came from US facilities.
• Almost 1 million tonnes of chemicals were sent off-site for recycling, compared with over 1.6 million tonnes released.
• Most chemicals sent off-site for recycling or other management went to sites within national boundaries. However, Canada exported 32,000 tonnes to the United States while American industries sent 39,000 tonnes to sites in Canada.
• From 1996 to 1998, cross border transfers of chemicals from the United States for treatment and disposal in Canada more than doubled (from 1,500 tonnes to 3,500 tonnes), due to one facility, Zinc Corporation of America, sending lead and zinc and their compounds to Safety Kleen in Corunna, Ontario, for the first time.
• Meanwhile, transfers of chemicals from Canada for treatment and disposal in the United States dropped (from 4,300 tonnes to 1,700 tonnes). This was mainly due to two facilities: Stelco’s Lake Erie Steel facility in Nanticoke, Ontario, sent zinc and its compounds to the Philip Environmental Services facility in Stoney Creek, Ontario, instead of to the Pine Tree Landfill in Lennox, Michigan; and Aimco Solrec in Milton, Ontario, incinerated its wastes instead of sending them for disposal to Systech Corp. in Alpena, Michigan.
• Of total releases (on- and off-site) in 1998, 91 percent consisted of just 25 chemicals, the foremost being hydrochloric acid, largely due to air releases from electric utilities.
• Almost one third of all releases are metals and their compounds, most of which wind up in landfills at the industrial facility site or off-site.
• Only a few facilities are responsible for the majority of releases. Just 50 facilities (0.2 percent of the total number of facilities) release almost 30 percent of the total on-site releases in North America. Of the 50 facilities, 27 are electric utilities and eight are hazardous waste facilities (both newly reporting industry sectors).

In addition to data on chemical releases and transfers, Taking Stock is a unique source of information on facilities that report the largest reductions, transfers across national borders, changes over time, and analysis of differences between the US and Canadian reporting systems.

Taking Stock 1998 has been prepared in a new two-volume format, featuring a summary volume and a sourcebook that provides more detailed data tabulations and analyses.

Taking Stock this year also features a special chapter on pollution prevention activities, including analysis of the opportunities and barriers to pollution prevention and examples of various practices at industrial facilities.

Another new feature of the program is a special Taking Stock web site, to enable customized queries of the matched North American data set. The URL for the new site is <http://takingstock.cec.org>. There will also be a link from the main CEC site <http://www.cec.org>.

Users of the new site can, for example, compare pollution levels in their state or province with those of any other jurisdiction in North America, see changes that have occurred in pollution levels over time, or obtain the North American ranking of major industrial facilities on such measures as releases or recycling. The web site allows citizens to see local data of interest within the larger North American context.

The CEC was established to build cooperation among the NAFTA partners—Canada, Mexico and the United States-in protecting shared environments, with a particular focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by continent-wide free trade.