States Rate High For Handling Industrial Waste

Washington state has the best record in the Northwest for preventing industrial pollution, but Oregon, Idaho and Alaska also are managing successful programs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.

The newly released 1994 Toxic Release Inventory shows that more than 640 industrial operations in the four states generated 697 million pounds of waste, but only 60 million pounds were released into the environment or required disposal, said Chuck Clarke, the EPA’s regional administrator.

In Washington state, almost 95 percent of 350 different chemicals classified as industrial waste is recycled, used as an energy source or treated to remove harmful contaminants, the EPA said.

In Oregon, it’s 88 percent; Idaho, 79 percent, and Alaska, 42 percent.

“Efforts to prevent pollution are paying off as more and more environmental managers are catching on that it’s good business to find a use for their wastes,” Clarke said.