Report Finds Significant Pollution Linked to Chronic Health Impacts:
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. industries discharge several billion pounds of
toxic chemicals linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental
disorders, and other chronic health problems each year, according to a
new report released today by U.S. PIRG. The report, Toxic Releases and
Health, summarizes air and water pollution reported by industry from
1987 to 2000 and identifies significant gaps in information on health
impacts of such pollution.
"Polluters across the country discharge billions of pounds of toxic
pollution linked to serious health impacts each year," reports U. S.
PIRG environmental health associate Meghan Purvis. "But without
adequate public health systems for tracking environmental exposures
and potentially related disease, we don't know how this pollution is
affecting our health."
Since 1987, toxic pollution linked to serious health effects has
shifted from the traditionally industrial Northeast and Midwest to the
South, according to the report. In addition, a significant portion of
toxic releases are concentrated in a small number of areas. For
example, in 2000, 76% of air and water releases of chemicals linked to
potential reproductive harm occurred in just ten zip codes.
Significant amounts of pollution linked to chronic health problems
documented in the report include:
More than 100 million pounds of carcinogens were released into the
air and water nationally in 2002, with Texas, Pennsylvania and Indiana
ranking first through third for these releases.
Tennessee ranked first overall in releases of both developmental and
reproductive toxicants, followed by Alabama and Illinois in 2000. More
than 138 million pounds of developmental toxicants and 50.8 million
pounds of reproductive toxicants were released nationally in 2000.
More than 1 billion pounds of chemicals suspected to cause
neurological problems were released in 2000, with Texas, Tennessee and
Louisiana ranking first through third for these releases.
Over 1.7 billion pounds of suspected respiratory irritants were
released into the air and water in 2000, and the states of Ohio, North
Carolina and Georgia ranked first through third in these releases.
Because few states track human exposures to toxic discharges or the
rates of potentially related chronic diseases, U. S. PIRG's research
also showed that the public lacks information on how toxic pollution
affects human health. Currently only three states?Massachusetts,
California, and Iowa?have high-level cancer and birth defect
registries as well as systematic tracking of asthma. There is
virtually no tracking of neurological conditions such as autism, and
tracking of environmental exposures linked with these chronic diseases
is extremely limited.
"It should be an urgent priority for federal decision-makers to
establish nationwide health tracking systems so that toxic impacts on
health can be monitored and prevented," said Purvis. "At the same
time, toxics exposures should be reduced and eliminated."
While the chemicals covered in U.S. PIRG's study are each linked to
serious health consequences, federal pollution reporting covers less
than one percent of the estimated 80,000 chemicals on the market
today. U.S. law also makes it difficult for a chemical that poses a
health threat to be banned or restricted or even for the government to
require health effects testing of chemicals.
During 2002, Congress approved funding for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to award 20 grants to state and municipal
public health departments for pilot projects in environmental health
tracking as the first pieces of a nationwide health tracking network.
The Senate is currently debating fiscal year 2003 spending bills and
is expected to provide an increase in funding for the health tracking
funding to $30 million. U.S. PIRG urged Congressional leaders maintain
that increased level of funding as the Senate finalizes its spending
bills and the Congressional leadership works to send final bills to
the president.
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are sponsoring legislation to set up a nationwide network for tracking chronic diseases.
For More Information Contact:
Meghan Purvis or Jeremiah Baumann
(202) 546-9707
U.S. PIRG Reports
Toxic Releases and Health: A Review of Pollution Data and Current
Knowledge on the Health Effects of Toxic Chemicals
January 22, 2003
http://uspirg.org/uspirg.asp?id2=8822&id3=USPIRG&
U.S. PIRG Education Fund
Executive Summary
Each year, industrial facilities nationwide release hundreds of
millions of pounds of chemicals linked to cancer, to developmental and
reproductive problems, and to neurological and respiratory disorders
into the nation's air and water. Yet, communities in the shadow of
industrial facilities typically have access to only limited
information on how these discharges may be affecting their health.
A review of data reported to the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
demonstrates the degree to which toxic substances with links to
serious health problems are released into our communities and
highlights which industry sectors and companies are responsible for
the bulk of toxic pollution. More importantly, these data demonstrate
the need for more and better information about chemical toxicity, the
release of toxics into the environment, and the links between toxic
chemicals and the development of chronic disease.
Toxic chemicals linked to severe health problems continue to be
released in massive quantities nationwide.
In 2000, more than 100 million pounds of cancer-causing chemicals
were released to the nation's air and water, with dichloromethane?an
industrial solvent that is also used in the manufacture of
photographic film?the most frequently released carcinogen nationwide.
More than 138 million pounds of chemicals linked to developmental
problems such as birth defects and learning disabilities, and 50
million pounds of chemicals related to reproductive disorders were
released to air and water in 2000. Toluene (a developmental toxicant)
and carbon disulfide (a developmental and reproductive toxicant) were
released in the greatest quantities.
More than one billion pounds of suspected neurological toxicants
were released to air and water in 2000. Methanol?a solvent and product
of wood pulping?was the most commonly released chemical with suspected
links to neurological disorders.
In 2000, more than 1.7 billion pounds of suspected respiratory
toxicants were released to the nation's air, with acid aerosols of
hydrochloric acid the most commonly released toxic substance.
More than 7,000 grams of dioxins?regarded as among the most toxic
substances known to science?were released to air and water in 2000.
Significant releases were also reported of several persistent,
highly toxic substances, such as lead (275,000 pounds), lead compounds
(1.3 million pounds), mercury (30,000 pounds) and mercury compounds
(136,000 pounds).
High-volume toxic chemical releases appear to be concentrated among a
small number of communities.
Approximately three-quarters (76 percent) of all air and water
releases of reproductive toxicants in 2000 occurred within just 10
U.S. zip codes. Similarly, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of all
dioxin releases and one-third (32 percent) of all developmental
toxicant releases occurred within just 10 zip codes.
Many communities have been subjected to high-volume toxic releases
year after year. Since the start of TRI reporting in 1987,10 zip codes
have received more than two-thirds (68 percent) of all reported air
and water releases of reproductive toxicants and more than one-quarter
(26 percent) of all developmental toxicant releases.
The "Sunbelt" has supplanted the "Rust Belt" as the nation's leading
source of toxic chemical releases with known or suspected links to
serious health problems.
Thirteen southern states, stretching from North Carolina to New
Mexico, were responsible for 48 percent of all carcinogen releases
reported by original TRI industries nationwide in 2000, up from just
33 percent in 1987. By contrast, the 19 states of the industrial
Northeast and Midwest saw their proportion of carcinogen releases
decline from approximately 52 percent of the national total in 1987 to
41 percent in 2000.
The southern states were also responsible for more than
three-quarters (78 percent) of all reported air and water releases of
reproductive toxicants in 2000, as well as 67 percent of all dioxin
releases, 59 percent of all developmental toxicant releases, and 50
percent of all suspected neurotoxicant releases. In each category
except dioxin releases (for which reporting began in 2000), the
South's proportion of toxic chemical releases has increased
significantly since 1987.
Individual Sunbelt states are also among the leading releasers of
toxic chemicals. Texas experienced greater releases of carcinogens,
neurological toxicants and dioxins than any other state and ranked in
the top five for releases of developmental and reproductive toxicants.
Tennessee ranked first for releases of developmental and reproductive
toxicants and in the top five for releases of carcinogens and
suspected neurological toxicants.
Communities subjected to high-volume toxic releases have access to
only limited information about how those releases might affect their
health.
Many states?especially those with high levels of toxic releases?fail
to adequately track cases of cancer, birth defects, asthma and other
chronic diseases. Only three states? California, Iowa and
Massachusetts?possess cancer and birth defects registries that meet
the highest standards for quality as well as any system at all for the
tracking of asthma cases. As a result, researchers, health officials,
and the public can't adequately determine whether disease rates show
patterns reflecting the release of high quantities of chemicals linked
to those diseases.
Scientific information on the health effects of many toxic chemicals
is limited or nonexistent. A 1998 EPA review found that only seven
percent of the nearly 3,000 chemicals made or imported to the U.S. in
large quantities possessed a complete set of publicly available
screening data on their toxicity. Even for those chemicals that have
been studied, little information exists on how those substances can
influence human health at environmental levels of exposure.
Government surveys that measure human exposure to toxic chemicals
cover only about six percent of the potentially dangerous chemicals on
the market today. The information that does exist on human exposure is
limited and generally of little use in determining the degree to which
residents of a particular area have been exposed to toxicants.
The Toxics Release Inventory only covers releases of less than one
percent of the estimated 80,000 chemicals in commerce today. Further,
TRI covers only releases from the largest facilities in a limited
number of industries. As a result, releases of potentially
health-threatening releases of toxic chemicals are greater than are
reported to TRI.
Creation of a Nationwide Health Tracking Network would enable
citizens, scientists and public health officials to better assess and
respond to the threats posed by toxic releases. An effective health
tracking network would include:
Expanded monitoring of human exposure to toxic chemicals, so that
public health officials have a clearer understanding of the levels of
toxicants to which Americans are exposed.
Enhanced tracking of chronic diseases?such as asthma, cancer, birth
defects and Alzheimer's?in order to help evaluate the potential links
between these diseases and toxic exposures.
An early warning system to alert communities to immediate health
crises such as heavy metal and pesticide poisonings.
Rapid response teams to quickly evaluate disease clusters and other
health threats thought to be linked to specific toxic exposures.
Other steps?such as expanded reporting of toxic releases, increased
emphasis on reducing the use of toxics, and better information on the
health effects of chemicals on the market?could also help protect
communities from the potential health impacts of toxic releases.
Gary N. Greenberg, MD MPH Sysop / Moderator Occ-Env-Med-L MailList
gary.greenberg@duke.edu Duke Occupat, Environ, Int & Fam Medicine
OEM-L Maillist Website: http://occhealthnews.net
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