Business News
- Details
- Written by: Editor
The 12 million pound decline reflects reported decreases in air, water, and land releases and off-site transfers.
The data comes from the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, commonly referred to as TRI. It’s one of the EPA’s largest publicly available databases, arming communities with valuable information on more than 650 toxic chemicals released by various industries. The chemical information in the inventory is calculated by industrial facilities and reported to the EPA, as required by law.
“We encourage people to use data from the Toxics Release Inventory in order to gain a better understanding of what is being released into their neighborhoods,” said Laura Yoshii, acting EPA administrator for the Pacific Southwest region. “Industry and communities informed with accurate information can use the inventory as a starting point to find opportunities to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we enjoy.”
In California, 1,336 facilities reported a total of 44 million pounds of toxic chemical releases.
Total releases include toxic chemicals discharged by facilities to air, water, land, and underground, and the amount transferred off-site for disposal. Regulatory controls apply to many of the reported releases. Reporting facilities must comply with environmental standards set by local, state and federal agencies.
Here’s a look at toxic releases in California from 2006 – 2008, reported in pounds:
Type of release 2006 2007 2008
Air 16,899,520 15,253,412 12,471,128
Land (On-site) 14,259,549 27,503,142 23,719,878
Underground Injection 50,938 69,922 104,807
Water 5,018,431 4,058,695 2,227,272
Off-site disposal 8,981,037 9,059,482 5,420,739
Total On- & Off-site releases 45,20,9475 55,944,653 43,943,824
Data from 2008 in California show:
Total reported on-site and off -site releases decreased 21 percent due primarily to decreases across all media – air, water and land releases and off-site transfers with the exception of the increase in underground injection releases.
Air releases decreased by 18 percent, 2.9 million pounds.
Water releases decreased by 45 percent, 1.8 million pounds.
California reported an increase in underground injection releases of 50 percent, 34,885 pounds.
The top five released chemicals are lead, ammonia, asbestos, zinc compounds, and nitrate compounds.
Hazardous waste, petroleum refineries and gold ore mining account for 68 percent of total releases.
In California, 8 million pounds of total releases of PBT chemicals were reported, a 19 percent decrease or 1.9 million pounds. Lead and lead compounds top the list.
Annual Toxics Release Inventory reporting began in 1987 after the enactment of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (1996). The inventory provides information to the public on annual toxic chemical releases reported by certain industrial and federal facilities.
The TRI does not include data on toxic emissions from cars and trucks, nor from the majority of non-industrial sources, such as agriculture. In 2000, TRI expanded to include persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals, or PBTs, at ranges from 0.1 grams to 100 pounds. PBT pollutants are toxic chemicals that remain in the environment and food chain, posing risks to human health and ecosystems.
The top facilities in California for total on-site and off-site releases of all chemicals (reported in pounds) are:
Chemical Waste Management Inc., Kettleman City, 15,966,454.
Western Mesquite Mines Inc., Brawley, 4,092,180.
Clean Harbors Buttonwillow LLC, Button-Willow, 1,662,201.
Valero Refining Co. (California Benicia Refinery), Benicia, 1,611,849.
Shell Oil Products US (Martinez Refinery), Martinez, 883,422.
Chevron Products Co. Div. of Chevron USA Inc., El Segundo, 862,304
Chevron Products Co. (Richmond Refinery), Richmond, 808,729.
Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co., Martinez, 761,889.
Exide Technologies, Los Angeles, 730,496.
ConocoPhillips San Francisco Refinery, Rodeo, 711,139.
TRI Explorer is a tool that you can use to see the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data. It allows you to look at data by state, county, or zip code; by chemical; or by industry. It provides maps that you can click on to find TRI facilities, chemicals and industries in a particular area.
National TRI Findings:
There was a 6 percent decrease in total reported releases into the environment nationwide from 2007 to 2008.
The number of facilities reporting chemical releases decreased 5 percent nationally.
Total PBT chemical releases decreased by 2 percent nationwide
For more on the TRI program including additional city, county and facility information, please visit the EPA’s Web sites: www.epa.gov/tri, www.epa.gov/triexplorer and www.epa.gov/enviro.
State fact sheets are available at www.epa.gov/region09/toxic/tri/ and www.epa.gov/triexplorer/statefactsheet.htm .
For more information on the PBT Chemicals Program, please visit the EPA’s Web site at www.epa.gov/opptintr/pbt .
Follow the U.S. EPA's Pacific Southwest region on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EPAregion9 .
- Details
- Written by: Editor
The answers are available at the Lake County Chamber of Commerce workshop at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14.
Chamber Member John Tomkins will present the answers to these questions and more in a discussion on year-end tax saving tips for businesses.
The seminar will take place in the Lakeport City Council Chambers at 225 Park St.
For more information contact the Lake County Chamber of Commerce at 707-263-5092 or register online at www.lakecochamber.com .
- Details
- Written by: Office of the State Controller
The month’s receipts were relatively close to estimates, down by 0.7 percent or $40.8 million.
“While revenues largely held up for two months, the next eight weeks will be far more telling of the State’s fiscal health,” said Chiang. “Record unemployment, at levels not seen for three decades, continues to aggravate California’s structural budget deficit.”
The receipts from tax deadlines in December and January are generally reliable indicators of expected Spring tax receipts.
Year-to-date revenues remain below the amended 2009-10 budget’s estimates by $835 million or -2.8 percent.
But lower-than-anticipated State expenses combined with an additional $1 billion in external borrowing put the State’s cash position $610 million ahead of its projected level on Nov. 30.
The state started the fiscal year with an $11.9 billion cash deficit in the general fund, which grew to $24.4 billion by Nov. 30. Those deficits are being covered with a combination of $15.6 billion of internal borrowing from special funds and $8.8 billion in short-term revenue anticipation notes.
November 2009's financial statement and the summary analysis can be found on the Controller’s Web site at www.sco.ca.gov .
- Details
- Written by: Lake County Marketing Department
Utilizing coordinating colors and beautiful photos, the Web site is geared toward the visitor to Lake County, with top-level categories that most visitors first seek – accommodations, planning a trip, things to do, and information about the area.
While much of the work was done in-house, two local firms assisted with the design, including bitSculptor and MAX Design Studio.
The Lake County Marketing Program is a division of the County Administrative Office and promotes tourism to and commerce in Lake County.
The Marketing Program’s promotional efforts range from advertising and print materials to travel shows and media relations.
Funding for the Lake County Marketing Program is derived from local Transient Occupancy Taxes (hotel bed taxes) collected in the unincorporated areas of Lake County, as well as through participation
agreements with other entities including the city of Clearlake, the city of Lakeport, Big Valley Rancheria, Robinson Rancheria and others.
For more information, contact the Lake County Marketing and Economic Development Program at 707-263-2580.
How to resolve AdBlock issue?