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PR EPA CITES 42 CO. FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE DATA ON TOXIC CHEM

Release Date: 07/15/96
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PR EPA CITES 42 CO. FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE DATA ON TOXIC CHEM

FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, JULY 15, 1996

EPA CITES 42 COMPANIES FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE
DATA ON TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASES

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today fined 42 companies a total of over $2 million for failing to report community right-toknow information on the types and quantity of toxic chemicals they released into the environment. The data, required under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), provide the only publicly available database on releases of toxic chemicals from more than 23,000 industrial facilities located in communities across the nation.

"Communities have a right to know about releases of toxic chemicals into the environment," said EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner. "The Clinton Administration has acted to expand complete and accurate right-to-know information that is essential to protecting the health of our communities."

The complaints in today's initiative seek fines from companies that have failed to comply with the community right-to-know provisions and supply the required TRI data for more than 300 chemicals for the years 1990 through 1994.

Steven Herman, Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said, "All of the violations announced today resulted from government inspections, not from voluntary disclosure by the companies or because they sought help through state environmental technical assistance programs. These enforcement actions should be a wake-up call to other companies that are not complying with the TRI reporting requirements."

On Nov. 30, 1995, the Administration almost doubled from 337 to 648 the number of chemicals to be reported under TRI. The first round of this expanded TRI reporting is due on Aug. 1, 1996. On June 26, Vice President Al Gore and Administrator Browner announced a proposed expansion of the types of facilities that will be required to report their toxic releases. The addition of metal mining, coal mining, electric utilities, commercial hazardous waste treatment facilities, petroleum bulk terminals, chemical wholesalers, and solvent recovery services will increase the number of facilities that report under TRI to 31,000. The facilities expansion, however, will not effect TRI reports due by the upcoming Aug. 1.

The chemicals that are reported under TRI can have significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. They include carcinogens -- chemicals that cause cancer, such as dichloroethane and benzene -- and mutagens -- chemicals that can cause changes in human cells, such as ethylene di-bromide as well as chemicals that cause reproductive and developmental effects. The TRI data allow the public, industry and state and local governments to make informed risk-based decisions about the management and control of these and other toxic chemicals. The data are used by industries to analyze their wastes and identify areas where source reduction and other prevention activities can be used so that wastes and emissions are 

minimized. Local governments often use the data in their contingency planning to respond to industrial accidents. TRI data also help the public as well as government agencies to gauge national progress in industry's commitment and ability to reduce toxic chemical wastes.

In the past four years, EPA's headquarters and regional offices have conducted over 300 training sessions on toxics data collection and submission for industry and federal facilities so that they can comply with reporting requirements.

R-101 ###