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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2003
Contact:
Brad Johnson, Director, Utah Division of Environmental Response and Remediation, (801) 536-4128
(Salt Lake City, Utah) - Chemical releases to Utah's environment decreased 19 percent overall in 2001, according to the Utah Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) 2001 Data Summary compiled by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. These releases are allowed under various environmental permits as a result of industrial operations.
"We are very encouraged by these decreases," said Brad Johnson, director of the Utah Division of Environmental Response and Remediation. "The volume of waste that is generated annually in Utah appears to be going down."
The most notable decrease is the amount of chemical releases to the air. Utah's releases to the air decreased 60 percent from 48.9 million pounds in 2000 to 19.3 million pounds in 2001. This is the lowest release-to-air total in the 15-year history of the TRI program. The reduction is primarily due to a decrease in chlorine and hydrochloric acid emissions from U.S. Magnesium.
Chemical releases to the land are down 17 percent from 902 million pounds in 2000 to 745 million pounds in 2001. Kennecott Copper facilities reported nearly 98 percent of the release-to-land total in the form of copper, lead, zinc, manganese, chromium, arsenic and other metal compounds, including naturally occurring metals in waste rock, which is removed during mining operations.
Releases to surface water remained virtually constant at 1 million pounds. This total consists almost entirely of nitrate compounds released from Geneva Steel to Utah Lake. Kennecott Copper facilities reported releases of various metals to the Great Salt Lake.
The TRI is an annual report used to inform citizens, industries and government regulators about wastes generated in Utah. Data are gathered at year=s end and compiled the following year. The report may be used to evaluate potential hazards to public health or the environment. TRI data can be used to provide basic information on the types and volumes of waste and emissions at a facility, but the data must be used with other concentration, migration, environmental targets and exposure information to assess a level of human health or environmental risk.
A total of 171 Utah facilities filed TRI reports for 117 TRI-listed chemicals and chemical categories. Approximately 65 percent of these facilities are located in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties.
The TRI report is available on the Utah Department of Environmental Quality's Web site at http://www.environmentalresponse.utah.gov/cercla/serc/trihome.htm.
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