Wednesday, September 25, 1996

Study: 29 Million Pounds of Toxic Chemicals Released Into Texas Waterways

By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - More than 28.8 million pounds of toxic chemicals were legally dumped by industrial facilities into Texas waterways over a five-year period, and nearly two-thirds of that went into the Houston Ship Channel, a new study says.

The analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data reported by the industries themselves was released Tuesday by two environmental watchdog groups: the Environmental Working Group and Public Interest Research Organization. The study covers 1990 through 1994.

"As a result of this continuing pollution, thousands of water bodies nationwide are damaged, as are the economies that depend on them, from tourism to fisheries," said Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook.

Cook noted that the "vast majority" of the chemical releases were legal.

The groups are recommending speedy implementation of EPA's proposal to expand the number of facilities and industries required to report toxic releases.

They also are campaigning to have EPA increase the number of toxic substances that must be reported. The Toxic Release Inventory requires reporting of some 340 of the 73,000 chemicals used in commerce, the study's authors say.

"The citizens of Texas have a right to know about any pollution of their water, air or land that may pose a risk to human health or the environment," they wrote.

Some of the chemicals have been linked to cancer, others to reproductive or environmental problems over time.

Slightly more than 18 million pounds of Texas' overall 28.8 million-pound discharge into waterways occurred in the Houston Ship Channel. The Brazos River was second, with 2,442,430 pounds; followed by the Neches River, with 1,645,307; and Galveston Bay, with 918,161 pounds.
The Neches River, however, received more carcinogenic chemicals than the other Texas waterways.

The Neches ranked ninth among all U.S. waterways, with 273,205 pounds of carcinogenic chemicals. The Brazos was 42nd, with 47,616 pounds; while the Houston Ship Channel was 45th, with 46,423 pounds.

Nationally, the report found that over 1 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were discharged directly into waterways from 1990 to 1994. Another 450 million pounds were discharged down drains to sewer treatment plants - a category not counted as official releases of pollution by EPA.

In Texas, almost 150 million pounds of toxic materials were flushed to sewage treatment plants. EPA estimates a quarter of all discharges nationwide flow through sewage treatment plants untreated.