Nw Industries Clean Up Their Acts Toxic Emissions Declining; But Businesses Making More Waste

Industry is releasing fewer toxic chemicals in the Pacific Northwest, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Chemicals ejected into air, water and land in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington fell from 59.3 million pounds in 1992 to 50.1 million pounds in 1993, the most recent year reported.

Spokane and Kootenai County industries were part of the national and regional trend, reporting lower emissions for the third year in a row.

Nationwide, toxic releases declined by 406 million pounds, a drop of 12.6 percent.

“This is very good news overall,” said Liz Moses of the Washington Toxics Coalition in Seattle.

The EPA’s latest Toxic Release Inventory report covers eight industrial facilities in Alaska, 58 in Idaho, 256 in Oregon and 312 in Washington - the most industrial state in the region.

Washington ranks 27th nationwide for chemical releases to the environment, and Idaho ranks 42nd.

Industries in Washington released 24.4 million pounds of chemicals and generated 475.6 million pounds of toxic wastes, according to the report.

One of the most dramatic reductions was reported by the Unocal refinery on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

Unocal reported it released less than 4.7 million pounds of ammonia into the air in 1993, compared to 31.9 million pounds in 1987, the first year industries were required to report the information.

With releases in the millions of pounds, Washington’s biggest polluters are pulp and paper mills. They include the ITT Rayonier Inc. plant at Port Angeles, the Weyerhaeuser Co. facility at Longview, and the Boise Cascade Corp. mill at Wallula near Walla Walla.

In Idaho, the largest emissions came from the Kerr-McGee Vanadium Facility at Soda Springs, the Potlatch Corp. pulp mill in Lewiston, and the Amalgamated Sugar Co. at Paul.

Vanadium is an atomic element used as a target for X-rays and in the manufacture of steel and rubber. In Spokane County, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Company’s Trentwood and Mead plants topped the list, but Kaiser’s emissions were down from the previous year.

For example, Kaiser’s Mead smelter emitted 534,000 pounds of hydrogen fluoride in 1992, and 420,000 pounds in 1993.

Hydrogen fluoride is a toxic gas and a strong irritant to eyes, skin and mucous membranes.

Part of the decrease is because the Mead smelter ran at only 75 percent capacity during 1993, said Bud Leber, Kaiser’s environmental affairs manager.

But Kaiser also is trying “smarter” management practices to cut down emissions, Leber said.

At Kaiser’s Trentwood rolling mill, hydrochloric acid emissions dropped from 250,000 pounds in 1992 to 232,000 pounds in 1993.

The acid is highly corrosive and harmful when breathed or ingested in sufficient quantities.

In late 1996, Kaiser will install a new, $15-$20 million air control system that will reduce the remaining hydrochloric acid emissions by about 90 percent. Leber said.

Dynamic Fabricators of Rathdrum, with 15,600 pounds of styrene emissions to the air, topped the Kootenai County list.

The plant makes cooling tower components. Styrene, a colorless, flammable liquid, is used in the plant’s fiberglass operations.

The company has reduced styrene emissions by shifting to a high-solid resin, said plant manager Wade Wolcott.

Dual-Lite of Coeur d’Alene recycled 35,993 pounds of copper scrap from its wire and cable manufacturing operation, but had no emissions to the environment.

While emissions have fallen, industry has been less successful at pollution prevention and recycling efforts, according to the new EPA report.

Wastes generated by industry increased slightly for the second year in a row, to about 33.5 billion pounds.

Louisiana, with the nation’s largest concentration of chemical plants, had the most toxic releases, followed by Texas and Tennessee.

“We hope to see reductions in the rate at which American businesses generate wastes,” said Fred Hansen, the EPA’s deputy administrator.

The EPA reports are a requirement of a law passed by Congress in 1986. A major aim of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act is to help communities prepare to respond to spills, fires or other emergencies.

In addition to the emissions reports, due each July 1, the law requires companies to report the location and quantities of chemicals they store.

The Toxic Release Inventory “continues to be one of the EPA’s most effective tools for providing citizens with environmental and public health information about their own communities,” Hansen said.

The data doesn’t tell the full picture of all toxic emissions, said Moses of the Toxics Coalition.

Industry uses approximately 80,000 chemicals, and the Toxic Release Inventory requires reporting on just over 600.

The information is available to citizens in several formats, including an on-line computer database and computer diskettes. It soon will be available free of charge on the Internet, said Philip Wong of the EPA’s regional office in Seattle.

MEMO: IDAHO HEADLINE: Northwest industries cleaning up their acts

This graphic ran with story only in the Spokane edition: TOXIC RELEASES IN SPOKANE AND KOOTENAI COUNTY Here are the number of pounds of toxins released into the air, land and water by local companies, according to the Toxic Release Inventory report released by the EPA this week. (Figures in Surface water Releases Facility pounds) Air discharges to land TOTAL Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical, Spokane 487,840 630 0 498,470 Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical, Spokane 420,500 250 0 420,750 Columbia Lighting Inc., Spokane 295,667 0 0 295,667 U.S. Marine/Bayliner 157,594 0 0 157,594 Huntwood Ind., Spokane 121,964 0 0 121,964 Fiber Tech Ind. Inc., Spokane 77,739 0 0 77,739 Johnson Matthey Electronics, Spokane 71,930 0 0 71,930 Alloy Trailers Inc., Spokane 30,654 0 0 30,654 Boeing Co., Spokane 18,900 0 0 18,900 Dynamic Fabricators, Rathdrum 15,600 0 0 15,600 Miles Inc., Spokane 14,986 0 0 14,986 Melcher Mfg. Co. Inc., Spokane 12,661 0 0 12,661 Apollo Plastics, Spokane 8,600 0 0 8,600 United Coatings, Greenacres 3,613 0 0 3,613 Columbia Paint and Coatings, Spokane 2,500 0 0 2,500 Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Chilco 1,605 0 0 1,605 Purina Mills Inc., Spokane 520 0 0 520 Spokane Steel Fndy., Spokane 510 0 0 510 Spokane Galvanizing Inc., Spokane 500 0 0 500 Inland Empire Paper Co., Spokane 255 0 0 255

Source: Environmental Protection Agency Staff Graphic

This graphic ran with story only in the Idaho edition: TOXIC RELEASES IN WASHINGTON AND IDAHO The Environmental Protection Agency’s Tosic Release Inventory report was announced this week. Here are the top polluters in Washington and Idaho.

(Figures in pounds) Surface water Releases WASHINGTON Air Discharges to land TOTAL ITT Rayonier Inc., Port Angeles 1,456,310 2,204,700 0 3,661,010 Weyerhaeuser Co., Longview 1,094,460 178,665 0 1,273,125 Boise Cascade Corp., Wallula 1,210,871 8,498 715 1,220,084 Boeing Commercial Airplane, Everett 1,153,655 3,010 0 1,156,665 Longview Fibre Co., Longview 1,067,370 58,450 0 1,125,820

IDAHO Kerr-McGee Vanadium Facility, Soda Springs 153,682 0 1,162,390 1,316,072 Potlatch Corp., Lewiston 598,505 12,850 448,260 1,059,615 Amalgamated Sugar Co., Paul 943,750 0 27,623 971,373 Amalgamated Sugar Co., Nampa 720,440 0 11,000 731,440 J.R. Simplot., Caldwell 31,510 0 559,903 591,413

Source: Environmental Protection Agency Staff graphic