This is what happens when Bush gets to pack the courts...

U.S. quadruples toxic release limit
Change threatens database that helps to curb emissions

DENNIS BUECKERT
CP

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Efforts to curb pollution in North America have taken a blow from a U.S. decision this week to exempt thousands of facilities from having to publicly report their toxic releases.

In a little-noticed move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency quadrupled the threshold for toxic releases that do not have to be publicly reported.

Experts say the change threatens a key NAFTA database that has proven to be a powerful tool in curbing emissions.

"This will likely result in less reporting - some chemicals may not even come up into the public view," said Keith Chanon, a senior official at the Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Co-operation.

Every year, the commission publishes a report, Taking Stock, listing releases of 200 chemicals identified by the U.S. and Canadian governments as being of health and environmental concern.

The report, published since 1993, identifies the worst polluters and ranks jurisdictions according to their emission levels. It generates extensive media attention and is widely credited with bringing levels down.

"Bringing this information out into the public eye has helped to make companies much more accountable in their chemical uses and releases, and has thus resulted in them taking action," Chanon said.

Under the new rules, U.S. facilities will not be required to file reports if they release less than 4,100 kilograms, compared with the previous threshold of 1,100 kilograms.

It will now be hard to compare U.S. releases with those in Canada, which has no equivalent threshold. Yet data comparability is a stated goal of the three NAFTA countries, Chanon said.

"Comparability enables us to look across North America and look at trends. If there is a large divergence between Canada and the U.S., it points to some kind of technology gap and shows there might be a better process."

Tom Natan, research director with U.S.-based National Environmental Trust, says 3,600 U.S. facilities will no longer have to file reports - 15 per cent of the total.

Most of those are smaller facilities where releases have been rising fastest, he said.

"If we're not getting information from these, we have every reason to think emissions will increase," he said.

"Every year, we learn that smaller and smaller amounts of exposure to toxic chemicals can cause harm. So for the EPA to have said we think releases before this threshold are safe is absurd on its face."

Fe de Leon of the Canadian Environmental Law Association said she is very disappointed at the EPA decision.

"What does this mean? Will Canada follow suit? That would be a dangerous path to follow."

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006