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The amount of pollution dumped into Indiana’s air and water slumped in 2007, new government data show, reversing a recent trend.
The chemicals put into Indiana’s air or poured into its rivers and lakes fell 12 percent after three years of increases, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Release Inventory, an annual compilation of the poisons created by large industries.
In northeast Indiana, the amount of air and water pollution dropped off more dramatically, falling 23 percent after two years of smaller declines. Nationally, the hazardous chemicals released into the air decreased 7 percent and releases to water dropped 5 percent.
Indiana Department of Environmental Management officials, who use the data in setting permit limits and to watch for trends, said the drops in Indiana can’t be attributed to the economy.
“The amount of total emissions went down compared to the state’s gross product,” said Rick Bossingham, assistant commissioner of IDEM’s Office of Pollution Prevention. “That’s good news, but it’s difficult to paint an accurate picture because facilities do better from year to year and some do worse.”
As the economy slows, industry makes less product, creating less pollution. But the decreases seen in 2007 were larger than the slowdown in production, Bossingham said. The declines could have been from new pollution controls installed or from changes in processes that create less waste.
Statewide, the amount of toxic waste managed – which includes waste that was recycled, treated or put in landfills – was down only 0.1 percent, probably a better indicator of the entire industry than just the amounts released into the air and water.
Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, said that while the state’s overall economy might not have declined in 2007, the state’s manufacturing base did decline dramatically.
He would not be so quick to thank IDEM for the reduction in pollution, he said.
And even with the declines seen in 2007, the amount of pollution entering the state’s air and water is staggering, Kharbanda said.
In northeast Indiana, 5.1 million pounds of chemicals came out of smokestacks, escaped out of factory work areas or were dumped into lakes and rivers. Almost half that amount came from Allen and DeKalb counties. The number does not include the millions of pounds of chemicals captured and recycled or disposed of.
In Allen County, according to the data, the largest volume of pollutants came from General Motors’ Fort Wayne Assembly plant. It released 656,086 pounds of pollutants into the air, about half of which was n-butyl alcohol, believed to cause damage to the blood, digestive tract, lungs, skin and brain.
GM’s emissions were up 7 percent from the 614,974 pounds put into the air in 2006.
The next largest release of chemicals into the county’s air was Lincoln Food Service Products. It reported releasing 133,400 pounds of trichloroethylene, up 2 percent from 2006. Trichloroethylene causes cancer and is believed to harm lungs, skin, the liver, kidneys, the brain and reproductive organs. It was the chemical at issue in the 1998 movie “A Civil Action,” starring John Travolta.
In DeKalb County, which had the second-largest amount of releases in northeast Indiana, the largest emitter of hazardous chemicals was Steel Dynamics in Butler, the EPA reported. More than half the chemicals released into the air were zinc compounds, believed to harm the lungs and immune system. Its emissions were down 3 percent from the year before.
Therma-Tru in Butler, which makes fiberglass exterior doors, released 154,664 pounds of cancer-causing styrene into the air, the EPA said, down 25 percent from the year before.
In Kosciusko County, where the EPA this month announced it would install air monitors outside Warsaw’s Lincoln Elementary School, the largest emitter of chemicals into the air was R.R. Donnelley & Sons, which the EPA said released 545,741 pounds of toluene, down 17 percent from 2006. Toluene causes developmental problems and is believed to affect many human organs, including the brain and reproductive system.
Statewide, about 90.5 million pounds of chemicals were released into the air and water. More than 1 billion pounds of hazardous waste was handled in Indiana in 2007 and either treated, recycled, put in landfills or otherwise disposed of.
“The volume is troubling, and it sort of flows naturally into our concerns about the changes at IDEM and their ability to enforce environmental laws,” Kharbanda said.
Last year, IDEM eliminated its Office of Enforcement, leading to concern among environmentalists that the state will be unable to enforce the law. IDEM officials insist there will be no changes in enforcement, only in how it is handled within the agency.
The numbers released by the EPA are just that, Kharbanda said, raw numbers with little context. For example, they make no distinction between less-toxic chemicals such as ethylene glycol and highly poisonous ones such as mercury.
The data for 2007 also cover only large industry. Facilities that release less than 2,000 pounds of toxic chemicals were exempt from reporting. That left thousands of manufacturers out of the data. Dan Murray, assistant commissioner of IDEM’s Office of Air Quality, said the EPA data probably cover about two-thirds of the hazardous chemicals actually handled in the United States.
Congress recently passed legislation restoring the reporting threshold to 500 pounds.
The Toxic Release Inventory covers about 22,000 facilities that handled 650 toxic chemicals. Nationally, 4.1 billion pounds of the listed toxins were handled. Of those chemicals, 179 were known or suspected carcinogens, the EPA said, including 91 million pounds of carcinogens released into the air.
About 507 million pounds of the toxins reported nationwide were known as Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic chemicals. The EPA says the poisons are “of particular concern” because they remain in the environment for long periods, are not readily destroyed and accumulate in body tissue.
The use of those chemicals – which include dioxin, lead, mercury, PCBs and certain pesticides – increased 1 percent, the EPA said, primarily because of a handful of facilities. Most of the releases reported were not to the air or water.
The data are not meant to frighten people, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement, but to help them understand what is happening in their community.
“This information underscores the need for fundamental transparency and provides a powerful tool for protecting public health and the environment,” Jackson said. “Serving the public’s right to know is the crucial first step in reducing toxic chemicals in the places where we live, work, and raise children.”
