BREATHE BETTER AIR – REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

By Ella Tyler

The report “An Analysis of Toxic Chemicals Released in Communities across the United States”, recently released by Environment Texas, is fascinating, in a horrifying kind of way. Many products that I thought were environmentally positive, rayon, for example, are produced by intensely polluting methods. However, many of these products are common consumer products, so individual buying decisions really can make a positive contribution to reducing air and water pollution.

According to the report, ”The chemical industry released the most developmental and reproductive toxicants to air and water in 2004.” The cellulosic manmade fibers (acetate and rayon) sector of the chemical industry was responsible for the most pollution.

For developmental and reproductive toxicants, the second most polluting industry is the rubber/plastics products industry. These products include meat packaging materials, sponges and scouring pads, and rubber gloves.

The printing/publishing industry ranked third in emissions of developmental toxicants. Food packaging, wallpaper, wrapping paper, magazines, and greeting cards are usually printed with toluene-based ink.

The industries that produce the largest amounts of suspected neurotoxicants such as methanol, ammonia and hydrogen fluoride, are (in order) chemicals/allied products, paper/allied products, and electric/gas/sanitary services.

The nitrogenous fertilizers sector of the chemical industry was one of the largest air and water polluters, releasing large amounts of ammonia and methanol. This sector manufactures ammonia fertilizer compounds and anhydrous ammonia, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and nitrogen solutions, urea, and natural organic fertilizers.

Methanol is released in large amounts by pulp, paper, and paperboard mills. It is a byproduct of the pulping and washing processes.

About 80 percent of all hydrogen fluoride released into the air in 2004 came from the electric/gas/sanitary services industry. Almost all of this pollution comes from the combustion of coal, which contains small amounts of fluoride compounds that form hydrogen fluoride when burned.

The largest amount of suspected respiratory toxicants were released by the electric/gas/sanitary services industries. This sector reported releases of 683,233,869 pounds of suspected respiratory toxicants in 2004. The next ranking industries, chemicals/allied products and paper/allied products, reported releases of approximately 210,000,000 pounds and 180,000,000 pounds (respectively) of these chemicals in 2004.

Nine of the 10 facilities releasing the most respiratory toxicants were power plants. Coal contains trace amounts of chloride; so coal-burning electric utilities release chloride into the air, where it combines with hydrogen to form hydrogen chloride. Upon contact with water, the hydrogen chloride forms hydrochloric acid.

Dioxins are so toxic that the EPA requires facilities to report their dioxin releases in grams rather than pounds. They are produced in chemical facilities, pulp and paperboard mills, petroleum refineries, and large coal-burning power plants. According to the report, in 2004 the chemical industry released the most dioxins to air and water, accounting for almost half (49 percent) of all air and water emissions of dioxins. The electric power sector and paper industry followed, together accounting for almost a third (31 percent) of the dioxin releases.

The report says, “A relatively small number of communities often experience the bulk of the air and water pollution.” According to the report, almost a quarter of all air and water releases of carcinogens occurred within just 20 U.S. counties; Tennessee, Texas and Illinois accounted for more than 40 percent of the nation’s developmental toxicant releases and more than 70 percent of the reproductive toxicant releases in 2004. Two-thirds of all air and water releases of dioxins reported occurred within just 20 zip codes.

That makes it easy to miss the link between air pollution and the products we use, but when we reuse our wrapping paper, we are not just saving a tree, we are giving the people in Dickson, Tennessee, toluene-free air to breathe.

The full report is at Environment Texas’ website (pdf).