Carcinogens taint state's air -- legally
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Because of inadequate federal and state prohibitions on emissions of
dangerous chemicals, Illinois industries legally spewed more than 24
million pounds of potentially cancer-causing chemicals into the
state's environment in one year, according to a public-interest group.

Almost half the pollution went into the air, Illinois Public Action
concluded from an analysis of government record. Although water and
land pollution have been heavily regulated in the last two decades,
air pollution has been neglected.

"Carcinogenic pollutants, especially those emitted directly into the
air we breathe, now pose a major risk to public health," said Illinois
Public Action executive director Robert Creamer [..]

[..] The National Cancer Institute has estimated that environmental
carcinogens cause 60 percent of all cancer deaths; other experts have
put the figure as high as 90 percent.

Among the chemicals that the study considered were benzene, a solvent
and component of gasoline that is known to cause leukemia; styrene, a
possible carcinogen that is used to make plastics; trichloroethylene,
a degreasing agent that has causes liver cancer in animals; and
dichloromethane, a possible human carcinogen with many uses,
including applications in making pesticides and film.

Illinois Public Action's study, "Poisoning Illinois: The State's
Leading Carcinogenic Polluters," is based on data that the industries
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must submit to state and federal environmental agencies. The report
covers Illinois emissions for 1987, the first year the disclosure were
required and the only year for which complete data is available.

Of the 1,088 businesses that had to disclose the kind and quantity of
chemicals they discharge to the land, air, and water, 36 percent
reported emissions of pollutants known or believed to cause cancer. In
addition, the chemicals can cause birth defects, organ damage and
other health problems.

Almost 40 percent of the 24.5 million pounds of potentially
carcinogenic pollution came from just 10 companies [..] Among the top
10 are four companies in the six-county Chicago region, and two others
are less than 80 miles from the city. Leader the list is Borg-Warner's
Ottawa chemical plant, which discharged 1.8 million pounds of
potential carcinogens[..] Monsanto's Sauget chemical plant in the East
St. Louis area was second, with 1.2 million pounds. Rockwell
International's Centralia factory, with 1.1 million pounds, came next,
followed by Dow Chemical's Joliet plant (1 million pounds); AT&T in
Montgomery (964,000); PMC Specialties, a Chicago paint factory
(830,000); Abbott Labs, a North Chicago pharmaceuticals maker
(798,000); Northwest Steel and Wire in Sterling (594,000);
Caterpillar, Inc., in Mapleton (580,000); and Quantum Chemical in
Morris (391,000).

[statements e.g. "we're in compliance w/all.." ; "our emissions have
declined since '86 by.." numerous spokespeople for these corp.s]

Since passage of the original Clean Air Act in 1970, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has set standards for air emission of
only eight toxic chemicals [out of *hundreds*; see "Illinois Ranks 8th
in Toxic Emissions" article --HB] The agency has bogged down in
lengthy studies and debates over what constitutes safe levels of the
chemicals [..] Instead of arduously determining the absolute health
risk of each chemical before setting a standard, government should work
toward achievable reductions first because whatever final standards
are set, they will probably be less than current emission levels, the
group says. [..]

[Chicago Tribune, Sunday, January 7, 1990
Section 2 ("Chicagoland"), page 1; By Stevenson Swanson]

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