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Directories Int'l Realty US Realty
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Moving To A New Home Consult The Toxics Release Inventory Stuart Lieberman, Esq., If you are moving, or if you just want to learn more relating to where you live, there is an absolute must first stop. That is the Toxics Release Inventory, or TRI for short, maintained by the USEPA. This is a database relating to hundreds of chemicals in thousands of facilities throughout the United States. It is implemented pursuant to various federal laws that require facilities to identify toxic chemicals that they release into the environment and store on site. Federal law also requires that this information be organized by the government and be made available to the public. You may access the Toxics Release Inventory through the EPA website, which is found at www.epa.gov. From there, search Toxics Release Inventory and you will readily access the site. On the site you will find out whether there are factories and other facilities in your community that are storing or releasing dangerous chemicals. Without accessing the site, it might be very hard to obtain this kind of information. Since one of the most important objectives of moving into a new community is safe guarding yourself and your family, this is clearly a required first step in the moving process. And the site is very user friendly. Releases of hazardous chemicals occur into air, water and land. Each of these kinds of releases is monitored through the TRI. The TRI places special emphasis on what are known as persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals, mostly referred to as PBTs. PBTs remain in the environment for long periods of time and frequently accumulate in body tissue. Because they are toxic and generally don't readily disappear, EPA places special emphasis on monitoring and controlling these chemicals. PBT's include dioxine, lead, mercury, PCB's and other kinds of chemicals and pesticides. The TRI will provide you with special information concerning PBT's. You should be concerned about PBT's and need to focus on this information when you review the TRI. The most recent information in the TRI is information accumulated for the year 2002. In that year, approximately 24,000 facilities filed reports with the TRI program. They reported nearly five billion pounds of off site and on site disposal and other releases of all the chemicals that are monitored through the TRI. PBT chemicals accounted for nearly 452 million pounds of these chemicals. Lead compounds accounted for 98% of the PBT's. This is a particular concern because lead is very dangerous to human consumption. There is some good news indicated by the TRI. Since 1998, the total on and off site disposal and other releases of toxic substances decreased by 37%. This might very well be attributable to industry wide attempts to minimize the amounts of release through, among other things, changes in manufacturing and operational protocols. But the news isn't all good. For some, it is down right alarming. For example, the report indicated that almost 210,000 pounds of monitored chemicals were released in the Boro of Queens, New York City during 2002. According to one publication, the Queens Chronicle, this exceeded the amount of pollutants released in the other four Boros of New York combined. In Queens, some point fingers at the high number of power plants located within the Boro. Nationwide, electric producing facilities have been blamed for exacerbating the nation's air pollution problem. While the news isn't great for Queens or for others confronted with similar information, the important point is that through the TRI this kind of information is available. And in this case, information really is power. Are you moving, or do you simply want to know more about your community and its environmental health? The TRI is must reading for you.
The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.
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