Albuquerque,
New Mexico –Exposure to dangerous toxic pollution from industrial
facilities threatens communities in New Mexico and across the country,
according to a new report released today by the New Mexico Public
Interest Research Group, NMPIRG.
The report, Toxic Pollution and Health,
uses information from the federal Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) to
analyze toxic pollution linked to serious health problems such as
cancer, birth defects or neurological damage. Due to a recent EPA
action restricting the public’s right-to-know, today’s report may
provide one of the last complete pictures of toxic pollution in New
Mexico.
In
2004, facilities in New Mexico released to the air nearly 800,000
pounds of toxic chemicals suspected to impair the human respiratory
system and can cause a range of health problems from lung irritation,
to asthma, to bronchitis and cancer. The largest source of this
pollution came from the Navajo Refining Company in Artesia, which
released more than 200,000 pounds of respiratory toxicants to the air.
“This
report confirms that communities across New Mexico are routinely put at
risk by toxic pollution linked to serious health impacts,” said Eric
Whalen, Citizen Outreach Director for NMPIRG. “These toxic pollutants
are the worst of the worst and pose tangible threats to public health
that must be addressed.”
The
federal Toxic Release Inventory is a public right-to-know program that
requires industrial facilities to publicly disclose their toxic
releases. In 2004, EPA reported that the TRI has helped to reduce toxic
pollution by 57% nationwide since its inception in 1988. Despite this
success, the EPA recently weakened the program by authorizing
industrial facilities to withhold previously reported pollution
information.
“To
address the potential health threats from toxic pollution, we need full
information about what toxics are being released, where, and in what
amounts,” said Whalen. “Unfortunately, EPA’s attack on the public’s
right-to-know means that New Mexico communities will be left in the
dark about toxic pollution.”
Representatives
Pallone (D-NJ) and Solis (D-CA) and Senators Lautenberg (D-NJ) and
Boxer (D-CA) recently challenged EPA’s rollbacks by introducing the
Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act (H.R. 1055 and S. 595). This
legislation would reverse the rollbacks to restore the lost data and
ensure that communities have full and complete access to toxic
pollution information.
“We
call on New Mexico’s Congressional Delegation to support the public’s
right to know and protect New Mexico’s communities by cosponsoring this
legislation,” said Whalen.
