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By Environmental News Service
MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, (ENS) - Industrial pollution in the United States and Canada rose slightly in 1997, reversing progress seen in earlier years, according to a major study released Tuesday by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 1997 is the latest year for which figures are available.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. The Agreement complements the environmental provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the enforcement of environmental law. The new CEC report, "Taking Stock 1997," shows pollution levels up 1.2 percent overall in North America from 1995 to 1997. Janine Ferretti, executive director of the CEC, said, "Taking Stock 1997" offers news of encouragement and concern. The continuing decrease in on-site releases is encouraging. However, of concern are the large increase in transfers off-site and the growing levels of pollution from smaller facilities." In 1997, North American facilities released and transferred a total of 1.29 billion kilograms of chemicals. Two-thirds of the total consisted of on-site releases. Direct, on-site pollution releases in North America were down nine percent overall in 1997 compared with 1995, with Canada posting a larger reduction, 13 percent, than the United States with an eight percent reduction. But pollution by industry off-site for treatment or disposal rose dramatically, up 27 percent since 1995 - 31 percent in Canada, and 27 percent in the the U.S. Pollutants released directly from industrial sites into the air, land and water totaled about 850 million kilograms in 1997. The primary metals industry was responsible for 78 percent of the total increase of transfers in Canada and 67 percent of that in the United States from 1995 to 1997. Most of the material transferred is disposed in landfills. The dramatic increase in transfers and data from the primary metals industry are key focuses in the CEC's fourth annual Taking Stock report, and data from this industry is explored in detail. This sector is one of the major reasons for the large increase in transfers in North America from 1995 to 1997, the report finds. Releases and transfers from the primary metals industry amounted to 366 million kg in 1997, an increase of more than 25 percent since 1995. Within this sector, steel mills accounted for the sector's largest releases and transfers, followed by primary non-ferrous metal industries - aluminum, copper, zinc, nickel and lead refiners. Economic and regulatory challenges have led to the installation of new or refurbished equipment with cleaner, more efficient technologies and greater efforts to recycle or reuse materials on site, according to the report. Still, increasing production may lead to increased releases and transfers. Disposal in landfills has increased when recycling costs have increased or when on-site storage limits are reached. Blast furnace and steel mills in the United States and Canada project a smaller increase in transfers from 1997 to 1999. The chemical manufacturing and paper products industries both showed decreases, including a reduction of 32 percent by Canada's paper products industry. In North America in 1997, releases and transfers of carcinogens totaled 195 million kilograms (kg), two thirds of which were releases, mostly into the air. Carcinogens released and transferred in the greatest volumes were lead and its compounds (31 million kg), dichloromethane (30 million kg), chromium and its compounds (29 million kg) and styrene (25 million kg). When releases alone are considered, U.S. releases of carcinogens dropped three percent compared to an eight percent decrease for all chemicals from 1995 to 1997. In Canada, releases of carcinogens decreased by less than one percent, while releases of all chemicals dropped 13 percent in the same time period. The report shows Texas continued to be North America's largest source of pollutant releases and transfers through 1997. The state of Pennsylvania was second and the province of Ontario was third. Of the five states and provinces with the largest releases and transfers in 1997, only Texas reported a decrease from 1995, the other four reported increases. All five projected decreases from 1997 to 1999. While reports from large facilities dominate the pollution data in both countries, smaller facilities - with releases and transfers of less than 100,000 kg in 1995 - make up the vast majority of facilities in both countries, 92 percent in the United States; 84 percent in Canada. These smaller facilities showed an increase in both releases and transfers from 1995 to 1997. They were up 38 percent in Canada compared to a reduction of 11 percent for larger facilities, and up four percent in the United States compared to a seven percent reduction for larger facilities. The data collected by the national programs do not include all chemicals nor all sources of pollution, such as agriculture, dry cleaners, service stations, cars and trucks. Information about national inventories upon which Taking Stock 1997 was based is from the United States Toxics Release Inventory and in Canada from the National Pollutant Release Inventory. The full report is available online from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation at: www.cec.org |
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