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MASSACHUSETTS COMPANIES REDUCE TOXIC RELEASES BY 19.3% IN ONE YEAR, EPA NAMES TEN LARGEST POLLUTION EMITTERS

Release Date: 06/18/1998
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1064 Dwight Peavey, EPA TRI Coordinator, (617) 918-1829

Boston -- Massachusetts's manufacturers reduced the amount of toxics released into the air, water and land by 78% between 1988 and 1996, according to data released today by EPA's New England office. The improved environmental performance of Massachusetts's manufacturing facilities represents a reduction of 19% over the previous year, far out-pacing the 5% rate of improvement nationally and on par with the New England-wide improvement rate of 18%.

"A strong New England business environmental ethic is evidenced by continued reductions in pollution emissions," said EPA's New England Administrator John P. DeVillars. "We are showing the nation once again that we can grow the New England economy while reducing pollution. Companies across the region are proving that smart environmental practices equal smart business practices."

"We are pleased to see the reductions in discharges reflected in the TRI data," said Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs Trudy Coxe. "Clearly all the pollution prevention strategies employed in Massachusetts, including our first in the nation Toxic Use Reduction law, are making a difference for everyone."

Beginning in 1988, manufacturers were required to send pollutant information to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). A review of data shows that Massachusetts' industries have reduced pollution from 26,065,900 pounds in 1988 to just 5,666,109 in 1996 (the last year for which data is available). That is a 78.3% reduction in chemicals entering the environment. The national average for pollution reduction during the same time period is 47.5%.

The following is a list of Massachusetts' ten largest emitters of toxic chemicals. It is important to note that these chemical emissions are reported to EPA under the TRI and do not reflect illegal discharges of pollutants to the environment.

COMPANY NAME	ADDRESS	TOTAL # pounds Chemicals emitted locally
Globe Mfg. Co.	Fall River	391,785
Plymouth Rubber Co. Inc	Canton	378,000
Crown Cork & Seal Co.	Lawrence	305,430
Rexham Graphics Inc.	South Hadley	252,061
Polaroid Corp.	Waltham	207,492
Aerovox Inc.	New Bedford	205,205
Polyfibron Techs. Inc.	Adams	195,700
Ideal Tape Co.	Lowell	169,949
Electronic Concepts Inc	Lee	159,624
Texas Instruments Inc.	Attleboro	155,710

The 1996 TRI data also shows that in Massachusetts 51.4 million pounds (46%) of toxic wastes were recycled, 12 million pounds (11%) were used for energy recovery, 32.4 million pounds (29%) were treated before disposal, and 3.3 million (3%) were disposed of at a location other than at the facility.

"EPA's New England office has the largest assistance and pollution prevention program in the nation, and the efforts of this program are yielding high results for the region's environment," said DeVillars.

The reporting of data to the Toxics Release Inventory is required under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, passed in 1986. The TRI provides the amount, location and type of release to the environment -- whether a pollutant is emitted into the air, discharged into the water, or released onto the land. It also includes information on waste shipped off-site for disposal or further treatment. The TRI has been credited with arming communities with valuable knowledge and encouraging facilities to reduce their releases of toxic chemicals into the environment through source reduction, or pollution prevention, measures.

TRI information is easily accessible to the news media and to the public. Information is available on-line, HTTP://WWW.EPA.GOV/OPPTINTR/TRI, in hard copy and in a variety of computer formats, including CD-ROM. For copies or more information, the public is encouraged to call EPA's toll-free Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Information Hotline at 1(800) 424-9346.