September 10th, 2008
What are we breathing now? Let me guess...
There may be a partial answer at a newly created section of the EPA website. It lists all admitted toxic emissions from factories, government operations and other facilities around the U.S. Here’s where you can go search your own zip code, or the one for your kid’s school.
One warning, this information is largely based on annual reports filed by the management of whatever facility is involved. So it may be about as dependable as the quarterly earnings report of, say, Bear Stearns or Fannie Mae. It is enlightening to check on what’s said to be coming out of those nearby factories.
My current and former Zip Codes included primarily residential properties, and nobody monitors the horrid grease coming out of the local fast food joints. Searches on those zips turned up zilch.
So I checked on the small town where I spent four years in college. Here’s what the town’s one electronics firm admits to:
MULTEK FLEXIBLE CIRCUITS INC, 1150 SHELDAHL RD, NORTHFIELD:
AMMONIA
ANTIMONY COMPOUNDS
COPPER COMPOUNDS
DECABROMODIPHENYL OXIDE
LEAD COMPOUNDS
METHANOL
NITRATE COMPOUNDS
NITRIC ACID
TOLUENE
I think we may have new sort of trivia game. You list the toxics and the winner has to guess the zip code or county from which it is emitted. You get half credit if you guess only the state.
Here’s a formidable list, for example, that would have contestants guessing a toxic waste dump in Nevada. No, it’s simply the oil refinery nearest to Silicon Valley where many VCs and tech firms are coagulated.
CHEVRON PRODUCTS CO. RICHMOND REFINERY, 841 CHEVRON WAY, RICHMOND 94802
1,2,4-TRIMETHYLBENZENE
1,2-DIBROMOETHANE
1,3-BUTADIENE
AMMONIA
BENZENE
BENZO(G,H,I)PERYLENE
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS(EXCEPT CHROMITE ORE MINED IN THE TRANSVAAL REGION)
COPPER COMPOUNDS
CRESOL (MIXED ISOMERS)
CYCLOHEXANE
DIETHANOLAMINE
ETHYLBENZENE
ETHYLENE
HYDROCHLORIC ACID (1995 AND AFTER “ACID AEROSOLS” ONLY)
LEAD COMPOUNDS
MERCURY COMPOUNDS
METHANOL
MOLYBDENUM TRIOXIDE
N-HEXANE
NAPHTHALENE
NICKEL COMPOUNDS
NITRATE COMPOUNDS
PHENOL
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC COMPOUNDS
PROPYLENE
TETRACHLOROETHYLENE
TOLUENE
VANADIUM COMPOUNDS
XYLENE (MIXED ISOMERS)
ZINC COMPOUNDS
Breath deeply. Enjoy the website.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Subscribe to GreenTech Pastures via Email alerts or RSS.
