Document baj0dpwZajr8Xjgnvzk0bpyw0

STLCOPCB4034590 Emissions! rate is top 1 in Illinois S By DAVID GOSNELL >. News-Democrat ' The highest concentration of toxic chemicals in the state are feieased. into the skies, streams and Soil tit Madison andSt. Claircounties.;* And while the metro-east lias dmy.f' percent of the industries that must report releases of 313 chemicals considered poisonous to, bumatis, those industries managed to create 25 percent of the state's toxic air, water andsoil emissions. . According to the Illinois. Environmental Protection Agency's annual toxic chemical inventory report, Madison and St. Clair counties' industries during 1989 released more toxic chemicals pej, site .than the more numerous industries in Cook County. , "It boils down to a much smaller number of facilifje* accounting fop a much larger percent statewide," said. Joe Goodlier, bf the lEPA's .Office of Chemical Safety. Goodner said metro-eaBt industries t appear to release certain chemicals in roujfch greater cdbcenHw$ioiis than in othgf industrialiied areas. Cook County, although containing about 63 percent of the oumber of Industries reporting chemical emissions, accounts, for about 48 percent of the state's total chemical emissions. The report, completed in May, is based on chemical amounts reported released by industries In 19(9. The report does not identify chemical amounts by Industry. The area's leading industries -- Shell Oil CO., Granite City Steel, Monsanto, Clark Oil, Cerro Copper and OUn Corp. -- all must report chemicals they use and release in the ground, water andair. A total of 51 industries reported chemical releases -- 32 in Madison- County and 19 in St Clair County. But St Clair County by far had a higher concentration of toxic chemical releases, releasing 46,624,000 pounds of chemicals compared to Madison County's total of 15,816,000. 'Much of St. Clair County's emissions involved water discharges, and treating chemicals in water treatment (Hants. Madison County: industries - released more toxic nemicals per pound into the air than id St. ClairCounty industries. cl fA\ /(co f/uZ l\jG /C ?e9er MS(J reported in both rears i lAeramnInpmbaipn* ng the increases included ___ i?a potentiallycancer-causing /product commonly extracted in (gasoline production, and ^ See TOXIC/3A r&p4r Mj r *w jT. >'a i*e, , a 7/K CO Ii/(jz_ KIojJs 'D-evfloe-'ccdt Gj50l<=\) /ft -+3A CD I--4 CO N<35 CD v-* CD 12 oz 0>0 z Toxic ntinued from 1A ti ichloroetbane, which showed a s. gnificant emission increase -- from 9 1,661 pounds in 1988 to 1,336,000 p >undsinl989. ' In both years, nine industries reported releasing trichloroethane, a liuuid or vapor commonly used as a cleaning solvent for metal that can be harmful if breathed. Many area 'jLs&IMP industries, including ShelfcMonsanto^ decreases or increases in chemical Granite City Steel and CernfCopper, emissions. (use the chemical. "It's inappropriate and premature Hydrochloric acid topped the two- to do trend analysis," said Goodner. county chemical release list, with "The facilities have been fin* tuning nine industries reporting the release their approach to estimating (what of 17.576,000 pounds of the chemical. kind of chemicals they produce and X However, uoodner said that, how much they produce), hesaid. 'because chemical reporting has only He said some chemical totals have gone on for three years, the agency is changed as a result of stricter not drawing any conclusions from reporting requirementsand from new W I .* WV 0* La * methods of estimating rather than being s reflection of any increases in the manufacture or release of the chemicals. In the future, however, the toxic inventory reports will he used as a basis to begin targeting some industries for reductions ot the release of some of the most toxic chemicals, Goodnersaid. o o m <s> to