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HomeNewsArchivesV.I. TOXIC RELEASES INTO ENVIRONMENT DECLINE

V.I. TOXIC RELEASES INTO ENVIRONMENT DECLINE

April 11, 2001 – Just-released data from the federal Environmental Protection Agency show that the amount of toxic chemicals released into the environment in the Virgin Islands in 1999 was down from the preceding year.
The period is the most recent for which study findings are available.
The EPA made its 1999 Toxic Release Inventory data available to the media and the public on Wednesday. The inventory is publicly reported in order to inform communities and individuals of chemical hazards in their areas, the agency’s Nina Habib-Spencer said in a statement.
In the Virgin Islands, the total amount of toxic releases of the more than 600 chemicals tracked in the TRI from a variety of industries declined from about 1.11 million pounds in 1998 to about 700,000 pounds in 1999, according to the EPA.
In the territory, the Hovensa refinery on St. Croix was the major source of chemicals released into the air in 1999 — 650,602 pounds of them. These emissions included sulfuric acid, 36,711 pounds; hydrochloric acid, 27,700 pounds; methyl tert-butyl ether, 2,088 pounds; and toluene, 755 pounds.
Following Hovensa in the amount of air emissions was the Water and Power Authority on St. Thomas, with 64,402 pounds; the Esso Virgin Islands St. Thomas bulk terminal, with 3,440 pounds; Texaco Caribbean, with 520 pounds; and WAPA on St. Croix, with 53 pounds.
The EPA requires TRI-monitored facilities to report their releases of toxic chemicals into the air, water and land. They also must report on off-site transfers — the transporting of chemical wastes for treatment or disposal at a separate facility. Reports must be submitted annually by July 1 covering the chemical releases over the preceding year.
Emissions estimates alone don't determine the level of exposure or the potential effects on human health and the environment, according to the EPA. Potential risk also depends on such factors as how toxic the chemicals are, what becomes of them after their release, where they are released and what the population concentration in the impacted area is.

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