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NEVADA COMPANIES REDUCE THEIR 1999 TOXIC RELEASES BY 11 PERCENT; MINING PROVISION GIVES STATE COUNTRY'S HIGHEST NUMBERS

Release Date: 4/12/2001
Contact Information: Contact: Lisa Fasano, (415) 744-1587

     SAN FRANCISCO -- Industries in Nevada reduced the amount of toxic chemicals released into the air, land and water by 11 percent in 1999, according to new data released today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

      The data comes from the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, an annual measure of toxic chemical releases, transfers, and waste generated by facilities in the United States.

     The 1999 data shows that Nevada industries have reduced toxic chemical releases from 1.32 billion pounds in 1998 to 1.17 billion pounds in 1999.  Total  releases include toxic chemicals discharged to air, water, underground injection, land (including landfills), and the amount transferred off-site for disposal.  Nevada has the country's highest release numbers because of a 1998 provision that requires mining facilities to report releases from waste rock.

     Nationally, there has been a chemical emissions decrease of 46 percent in manufacturing industries   about 1.5 billion pounds   over the 12-year history of the program.

     "Thanks to strong regulations and improved environmental practices by business and industry, we continue to see a downward trend in the amount of pollutants entering Nevada's air and waterways," said Enrique Manzanilla, director of the EPA's Cross Media Division in San Francisco.  "We encourage people to use data from the Toxics Release Inventory in order to gain a better understanding of what's being emitted in their neighborhoods."          

     Since 1987, manufacturing facilities have been reporting their releases of 650 toxic chemicals and chemical categories under this program.  This marks the second year that seven new industrial categories, including metal mining and electric utilities, were required to report.

     In Nevada, total releases from manufacturing industries increased by 3 percent since 1998, to 4.4 million pounds.  Total releases from the electric utility industry remained steady at 2.2 million pounds, and releases from the metal mining sector decreased by 12 percent, to 1.17 billion pounds.

     The following is a list of  the top facilities for total on- and off-site releases in Nevada in the manufacturing, mining, and electricity generating sectors.


Metal Mining Industry:

Newmont Gold Company,Twin Creeks Mine, Golconda:
344 million pounds

Barrick Goldstrike Mine, Elko:
325 million pounds

BHP Copper Robinson Ops., Ruth:
171 million pounds

Newmont Gold Co., Carlin South Area, Carlin:
99 million pounds
                                                       
Echo Bay Minerals Co., McCoy/Cove Mine, Battle Mountain:
75 million pounds


     Metal mines extract, move, store, process, and dispose of large amounts of waste rock and ore--materials which often contain low concentrations of naturally occurring metals.  The vast majority of this material is placed in surface impoundments or on the land, and the metals are reported as on-site releases to land.


Electricity Generating Industry:

Mohave Generating Station, Laughlin:
1.2 million pounds

Reid Gardner Station, Moapa:
561 thousand pounds

North Valmy Station, Valmy
459 thousand pounds

Manufacturing Industries:

Kerr McGee Chemical, Henderson:
2.3 million pounds

Hawthorne Army Depot, New Bomb Facility, Hawthorne:
1.0 million pounds
                                       
R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Reno:
470,000 pounds

Coastal Chem Inc., Battle Mountaina;
258,000 pounds

Nevada Refy. of Kennametal, Inc., Fallon:
100,000 pounds

   
     The reporting of data to the Toxics Release Inventory is required under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, passed in 1986. This program 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.

     Fact sheets, TRI data and additional information on the 1999 TRI data for Nevada is available at https://www.epa.gov/region09/toxic/tri/report .