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The spike was driven largely by metal mining, but other sectors - including the chemical industry - also contributed to the rise in emissions, according to the new analysis from the annual federal Toxics Release Inventory.
Air releases of dioxin, which is linked to cancer as well as neurological and reproductive problems, rose 10 percent from 2009 to 2010, according to the report. Other releases, such as landfill disposal, increased 18 percent.
Dioxins are formed as a byproduct of some processes with intense heat, such as smelting and recycling metals. The 2010 increase stemmed largely from the hazardous-waste-management and mining industries, according to the EPA.
In a statement Thursday, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson did not address the specific sources of emissions but said that the public reporting "has played a significant role in protecting people's health and the environment by providing communities with valuable information on toxic chemical releases."
According to EPA officials, a handful of metal mining operations helped drive the overall increase in toxic emissions.
"In this sector, even a small change in the chemical composition of the ore being mined - which EPA understands is one of the reasons for the increase in total reported releases - may lead to big changes in the amount of toxic chemicals reported nationally," the statement read.
Some environmentalists said the new data show why the EPA should swiftly move to release a long-anticipated environmental assessment of dioxin, the first installment of which the agency plans to issue this month. EPA officials say they will issue a report addressing dioxin's non-cancerous effects first and then later release a cancer-related report.
© civileats.comThe Monsanto ad should read: Without Chemicals Life itself WOULD be possible.
Comment: The EPA will release a report addressing dioxin's non-cancerous effects first and then later release a cancer-related report. Who does the EPA think they are fooling? They can't be serious!
We begin to see why the EPA is delaying the release of the cancer related report, the following article New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer was published back in 2010 and provides useful information when trying to understand why the EPA doesn't want the public to know about the connections between chemicals and cancer:
The President's Cancer Panel is the Mount Everest of the medical mainstream, so it is astonishing to learn that it is poised to join ranks with the organic food movement and declare: chemicals threaten our bodies.
The cancer panel is releasing a landmark 200-page report on Thursday, warning that our lackadaisical approach to regulation may have far-reaching consequences for our health.
The report blames weak laws, lax enforcement and fragmented authority, as well as the existing regulatory presumption that chemicals are safe unless strong evidence emerges to the contrary.
"Only a few hundred of the more than 80,000 chemicals in use in the United States have been tested for safety," the report says. It adds: "Many known or suspected carcinogens are completely unregulated."
Some industry groups, including the American Chemistry Council, have urged the EPA to hold off issuing the report in what the trade association's president and chief executive, Cal Dooley, has called "a piecemeal fashion." Chemical manufacturers accounted for nearly 64 percent of total disposal of dioxins in 2010, though they reported a 7 percent decrease from 2009 to 2010.
Comment: The American Chemistry Council represents the Chemical Industry! Therefore it is no surprise that chief executive, Cal Dooley, would want to hold off issuing a report that may inform the people about the connection between toxic chemicals (approved by the EPA) and the negative health effects of said chemicals on people and the environment!
The Chemical Industry really doesn't want the following information released, even in 'a piecemeal fashion':
Nearly 17,000 Chemicals Remain Corporate Secrets - Even the EPA Doesn't Know What They Are
Use of Potentially Harmful Chemicals Kept Secret Under Law
Why Our Environment is Still Awash in Dangerous Chemicals
Additional examples of 'environmentally (pollution) induced cancer' thanks to the Chemical Industry:
Toxic Chemicals Are Maiming Thousands Around the World
Children's Diseases Linked to Chemicals on Rise
We Interact with 100,000 + Chemicals, and the Dangers Are Barely Understood
Household Exposure To Toxic Chemicals Lurks Unrecognized
Some Chemicals are more harmful than anyone ever suspected
Swimming in Chemicals
In a letter dated Dec. 20, Dooley wrote Jackson that
"it is worth noting that the Agency's efforts to manage dioxin emissions have been successful. Indeed, as a result of both regulatory and voluntary initiatives, U.S. dioxin emissions from man-made sources have dramatically declined and environmental levels of dioxin have plummeted."ACC spokeswoman Anne Kolton noted in an e-mail:
"U.S. emissions of dioxin have declined more than 92 percent since 1987 [through 2009] to the point where backyard trash burning is the primary source of dioxin emissions."Mike Schade - a campaign coordinator for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice - said the fact that emissions are now on the upswing makes it important for the EPA to release a report it started working on in 1985.
"Communities across America have been exposed to dioxin for decades as EPA has continued to work on this study. Every American has measurable levels of dioxin in their body," Schade said in an interview, noting that most humans are exposed by eating meat or dairy products from animals that have accumulated the chemical in their bodies.
"It's critically important for EPA to finalize this study so the EPA can protect Americans from this toxic chemical."
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