Toxic Chemical Report

Eleventh Annual Toxic Chemical Report

A summary of information contained in the Toxic Chemical Report Forms for calendar year 1997

The full report is an Adobe Acrobat PDF document. You will need the free Acrobat Reader software, available from Adobe's web site, to view it. Full Report (82 pages, 1.1M)

Preface

Toxic chemical release reporting by facilities in Illinois continues to indicate overall reductions in releases of harmful chemicals to the environment. The most impressive change has been a 57 percent decrease in air emissions of carcinogens since 1988, including a decrease of 18 percent in 1997 alone.

This significant reduction in emissions of cancer-causing chemicals into our air is the result of compliance with federal and state regulatory programs, and voluntary actions by companies — sometimes in response to citizen involvement at the state and local level. The Agency continues to make emissions reductions a top priority.

Releases of all toxic chemicals have decreased by approximately 38 percent from 1988 through 1997. The amount recycled has exceeded the amount released since 1992. At the top of the pollution prevention hierarchy, facilities which have indicated using various methods to reduce the generation of toxic chemical releases at the source, such as substitution of raw materials which are not toxic and reformulating raw material streams, have reported release reductions of nearly 88 percent for these chemicals from 1991 through 1997.

The Toxics Release Inventory continues to be an important tool in evaluating trends of all toxics releases to the environment.

Tom Skinner, Director

Executive Summary

More than 2,100 unique facilities have reported toxic chemical release information to the Illinois EPA since the reporting program mandated by federal law began in 1987. Not including 1987, an average of 1,300 facilities have reported each year, with the actual number ranging between 1,092 and 1,398.

For calendar year 1997, 1,092 facilities submitted 3,410 individual toxic chemical release reports showing a total of 143.8 million pounds of releases and transfers. Zinc compounds had the highest reported releases and transfers, at 31.5 million pounds. The combined total of fugitive and stack air emissions topped all other environmental areas at 64.6 million pounds. Facilities in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 3312 (Steel Works, Blast Furnaces, Coke Ovens and Rolling Mills) exceeded all other industrial categories with reported releases and transfers of 40.3 million pounds.

In order to perform meaningful trend analyses of total toxic chemical releases, including offsite transfers, the Illinois EPA utilizes information reported by facilities for toxic chemicals which have been reportable in the same form for each of the years 1988-1997. Offsite transfers for recycle or energy recovery, reportable for 1991 and later years, are not considered.

A total of 760 facilities have reported every year from 1988-1997, which represent approximately 58 percent of all facilities reporting on an annual average basis. These facilities report approximately 79 percent of total releases each year. From 1988 through 1997, total releases for all reporting facilities have decreased by 38 percent while total releases for the 760 facilities have decreased by 31 percent.

The toxic chemical with the greatest reduction from 1988-1997 was toluene (73 percent decrease), which is a teratogen, reproductive toxin and fetal toxin. Facilities in the SIC category 2821 (Plastic Materials, Synthetic Resins and Nonvulcanizable Elastomers) as a group had the greatest reduction (61 percent) in this time period.

Total releases and transfers increased 8 percent from 1996 to 1997. This increase was mostly attributable to increases in offsite transfers of zinc compounds for disposal from a small number of facilities in SIC category 3312, coupled with decreases in offsite transfers of zinc compounds for recycle from those same facilities.

Air emissions of known or probable human carcinogens have decreased by 57 percent from 1988 to 1997, and by 18 percent from 1996 to 1997. The single chemical with the largest decrease in both periods of time was dichloromethane. Facilities in SIC category 3312 had the greatest decrease in air emissions of carcinogens from 1988 to 1997, resulting primarily from declines in emissions of benzene and trichloroethylene.

The toxic chemical with the greatest amount of releases from 1988 through 1997 was zinc compounds, totalling 199.7 million pounds. Considering only those toxic chemicals with significant human health effects, i.e. which are known or probable human carcinogens, teratogens, fetal toxicants and/or reproductive toxicants, toluene had the highest total of 112.5 million pounds.

The group of facilities in SIC Code 3312 reported 294.6 million pounds of releases from 1988 through 1997, the greatest for any industrial category, and also had the highest total of 93.3 million pounds in the period for those toxic chemicals with significant human health effects.

Facilities located in ZIP Code 61832 in Danville (Vermilion County) reported the highest total of air emissions from 1988 through 1997, totalling 37.2 million pounds. Considering only those toxic chemicals with significant human health effects, facilities located in ZIP Code 61832 also reported the highest total of 37.2 million pounds.