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Friday, February 13, 2009

Increasing information on toxic pollution

Congress Again Sets Sights on Toxics Right to Know, OMB Watch, February 10, 2009.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) recently reintroduced the Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act (H.R. 776), which would restore the thresholds for reporting of toxic pollution under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. A 2006 rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) raised the thresholds significantly. ...

Since 1986, TRI has provided the public with data on releases and transfers of toxic waste at thousands of facilities nationwide. The list of reportable chemicals, as well as the covered industries, has grown over the life of the program. The 2006 TRI rule promulgated by the Bush administration was seen by numerous public health and environmental advocates as a major setback ...

See also our past posts on the EPA TRI program.