Northwest Waters Become Legally Polluted Discharges From Pulp And Paper Mills Put Region At Top Of List For Toxins, Carcinogens In Water

The Pacific Northwest, with an abundance of chemicals at pulp and paper mills, figured prominently in an environmental group’s report Tuesday on the one billion pounds of toxins and carcinogens discharged into America’s waters in recent years.

Industries legally discharged more cancer-causing chemicals into Washington state’s waters than in any other state from 1990-94, the Washington, D.C.based Environmental Working Group and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group said.

The Columbia River also headed the list of 50 U.S. waters receiving the most carcinogens during the five-year period, the groups said.

Pulp and paper mills of Weyerhaeuser Co., Longview Fibre Co., Rayonier Inc., ITT Rayonier Inc., Scott Paper Co., Boise Cascade Corp., and Georgia-Pacific West Inc., were among the leading contributors that pushed Washington state to the top with an estimated 1.76 million pounds of carcinogens, much of it in the form of chloroform, the report said.

Next were Connecticut, 1.7 million; New York, 1.14 million and Louisiana, 870,381 pounds.

More than one billion pounds of toxic chemicals were discharged directly to America’s waters during the five years, the report said. That includes about 30 million pounds of carcinogens, toxins affecting reproduction, and toxic metals.

The groups released the figures while urging tighter reporting requirements at the Environmental Protection Agency. They estimate current requirements cover only about 5 percent of the total toxic chemicals discharged.

“Most Americans have no idea who’s dumping how much of what pollutants into their favorite river, lake or bay,” said Kenneth A. Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit conservation organization.

The groups issued the rankings of states, corporate polluters and bodies of water based on the figures companies have been required to report through the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory since 1988.

The numbers themselves are not new, but group leaders said it marked the first time anyone had categorized the discharges for individual bodies of water.

In terms of overall toxic pollution, including noncarcinogens, Grays Harbor, Wash., ranked 10th nationally with 10.8 million pounds. The Columbia River was 18th with 4.4 million, Everett, Washington’s harbor was 32nd with 1.7 million and Oregon’s Willamette River 50th with 1.2 million pounds.

In many cases, the polluters in Washington state have dramatically cleaned up their act since the beginning of the period examined, the report shows.

For example, Weyerhaeuser’s mill at Cosmopolis, Wash., discharged 8.2 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Grays Harbor in 1990 and only 5,650 pounds in 1994. Scott Paper Co. discharged 470,040 pounds of toxic chemicals into Everett Harbor in 1990 and only 63,700 pounds in 1994.

Eastman Kodak Co. dumped more cancer-causing chemicals than any other company from 1990-94 - 879,000 pounds, all into the Genesee River in New York, the report said.

Pulp and paper mills account for about half of all toxic releases in Washington state, said Jerry Gilliland, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Ecology. The chemicals include sulfuric acid, ammonia, chlorine and methanol.

“It is important to understand that what they are reporting is stuff they are, normally speaking, legally allowed to release. They are big companies and have very large processes,” Gilliland said.

“It sounds like a huge quantity, but they are all within the permitted parameters and they are not violating their permits. It’s not like this is being done under cover of darkness,” he said.

Total releases of toxic chemicals in Washington state has declined 10.5 percent from 1991 through 1994, he said.

Kate Tate, environmental communications manager for Weyerhaeuser in Federal Way, Wash., said the pulp and paper industry “is one of the most heavily regulated in terms of permits” and therefore ends up reporting more emissions than most industries.