10:23 AM MST on Monday, January 23, 2006

By Tony Davis / Arizona Daily Star

Company reports on toxic chemical releases into the air and water may become less frequent and contain less information in the future.

Amid opposition from environmentalists, the U.S. government is considering relaxing a requirement that companies issue annual reports on the quantity of toxic substances they release into air, water and soil.

The Environmental Protection Agency is also formally proposing to raise the minimum amount of chemicals released into the air or water above which a company must make detailed disclosures.

The Toxic Release Inventory, an annual report the EPA has been required to publish since 1986, discloses the amounts of carcinogens and other pollutants released by polluters nationally and in individual communities.

Congress ordered its creation after a poisonous gas leak from a Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, in 1984 killed anywhere from 2,000 to 12,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands of others.

For 2003, the most recent total figures available, owners of 29 industrial and other business sites in Pima County reported releasing about 3.5 million pounds of 46 different chemical and heavy metal compounds into the environment.

Statewide, nearly 300 industries reported releasing about 48 million pounds consisting of 118 toxic compounds in 2003. Arizona ranked 26th of 50 states in pounds released. It is the 18th- most-populous state.

Nationally, 522 compounds were emitted, totaling 4.43 billion pounds, by 23,985 different businesses and facilities.

The EPA wants to raise by tenfold the threshold above which a company is required to make detailed disclosures — from 500 pounds of an individual pollutant released per year to 5,000 pounds. Also, companies would report every two years instead of each year as they do now.

EPA said the changes would save industry 165,000 hours of paperwork a year and still ensure more than 99 percent of toxic releases are reported in detail.

A December 2005 study by a public interest research group concluded that the effects of the changes in Arizona would be significant.

If the changes occur, 51 Arizona companies, including five in the Tucson area, would no longer have to itemize their releases. Of those 51, however, 24 — including three in Tucson — are filing reports now even though they appear to be exempt from the requirements. They released less than 500 pounds in 2003, their reports show.

People living in 12 Arizona ZIP codes — none in Pima County — would lose 100 percent of the information they now get, the report said.

"It's troubling. It means the public and environmental protection agencies like us will have less information about toxic substances being released into our environment," said Steve Owens, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Generally, the public reporting requirement has been credited with inducing companies to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals they use. Nationally and statewide, the amount of emissions reported have dropped over the years. But if EPA loosens reporting requirements, that could reverse the trend, Owens said.

"It removes the spotlight from the facilities that are emitting toxic pollutants," Owens said. "For people who may live in a community near a facility, they would be completely left in the dark" for two years, he said.

In Pima County, spokesmen for three businesses that file the annual reports, including copper company Phelps Dodge and utility Tucson Electric Power, said they either have no problem with the current rules or believe the proposed changes would not affect their operations.

A fourth company, mining giant Asarco, said EPA's plans might be worthwhile. The information gathering and reporting is one person's full-time job for at least 30 days before the reporting deadline, said Tom Aldrich, Asarco's vice president of environmental affairs. Asarco files annual reports for its Mission Complex in Sahuarita.

But to Phelps Dodge, which runs the Sierrita mine in the Green Valley area, EPA's proposed changes aren't likely to save much money.

"It appears that the same amount of data would have to be gathered yearly. Data collection is more expensive than sending it in," said Ken Vaughn, a Phelps Dodge spokesman.

Sasol North America would no longer have to report its exact chemical releases if EPA's change went through. Sasol makes high purity alumina at its Tucson facility for use in making scratch-resistant crystals on watch glass, hip replacements, lamp coatings and other products. Its 2003 report showed it released 1,000 pounds of hydrochloric acid from its facility at 7800 S. Kolb Road.

"We will continue to report these emissions to the state, as required by our operating permit," said Tom McDaniel, local plant manager.

Distinctive Marble, a South Side Tucson company that released almost 4,000 pounds of styrene into the air in 2003, would also be exempt from future reporting requirements if the EPA proposal passed. A company official declined to comment on the proposal.

A University of Arizona environmental health professor criticized EPA's proposals, saying it's particularly important for urban Tucsonans to know what companies are emitting because this area's historic zoning practices put many residents close to industries.

The farther you are, then maybe 5,000 (pounds) isn't such a bad thing," said Mary Kay O'Rourke. "If you are close to that site, it can be significant."

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©The Arizona Daily Star, 2006