Bush EPA Seeks to Restrict Public Toxics Info

The Bush administration wants to make it harder for U.S. residents to find out what toxic chemicals are being released into their communities – and environmental advocates are calling on concerned citizens to fight the plan.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed making significant cuts in the reporting required under the Toxics Release Inventory, a public database offering information on toxic releases from certain industries and federal facilities. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 created the TRI in response to two disastrous accidents at Union Carbide chemical facilities – a 1984 incident in Bhopal, India in which a cloud of methyl isocyanate killed at least 15,000 people, and a 1985 accident in Institute, West Virginia, during which a leak of aldicarb injured at least 135 people.

"These incidents underscored demands by industrial workers and communities in several states for information on hazardous materials," the EPA notes on its TRI Web site. "Public interest and environmental organizations around the country accelerated demands for information on toxic chemicals being released … outside of the facility."

The EPA this month issued a proposed rule to reduce reporting on persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals or PBTs, which include DDT, mercury and PCBs. The rule would also raise the reporting thresholds for other chemicals by a factor of 10 – from 500 pounds to 5,000 pounds. In addition, the EPA told Congress that next year it plans to propose a rule reducing the frequency of TRI reporting from every year to every other year.

The administration's proposal comes as the World Bank, a major international development organization, issued a report titled Environment Matters, which calls toxic chemicals a "growing global threat."

The EPA is accepting public comments on the proposed rule until Dec. 5, and the North Carolina Conservation Network is among the environmental advocacy groups urging citizens to weigh in. You can submit comments using the EPA's electronic system by clicking on "submit comments" on the bottom left. The docket number is TRI-2005-0073. The Federal Register notice (PDF) of the proposed rule details other ways to submit comments.

NCConNet also asks citizens to let their U.S. legislators know what they think about the EPA's plans. You can access congressional contact information at the group's elected officials contact page.

In addition, OMB Watch - a nonprofit, Washington-based watchdog group – has organized an online campaign for submitting comments. You can visit it here.