Healthy Communities

Toxic Releases and Health: A Review of Pollution Data and Current Knowledge on the Health Effects of Toxic Chemicals

2003-01-22

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.

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