The Edison Electric Institute today announced estimates of the amounts of certain chemicals released by the electric power industry in 2006. The estimates, which cover some of the top substances reported by power companies this year under the federal Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), continue to suggest that overall electric power sector TRI releases for the current reporting year are likely to be comparable to those reported in previous years.
Under the TRI program, electric power companies are required to file reports with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 1 of each year documenting releases of any of about 650 chemicals. For nearly two decades, TRI reports were mandated for the U.S. manufacturing sector under the 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. In 1997, EPA expanded the program to include electric generators and several other industry sectors, which began filing TRI data beginning with the 1998 reporting cycle.
In 1999, the electric power industry became the first sector to voluntarily disclose to the public early estimates of TRI releases. EEI's board of directors and members support communities' right to know about the presence of chemicals in their neighborhoods.
Analyses by EPA and others have shown that electric power industry TRI releases do not present a significant public health concern. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis in 1999 concluded: "Although this industry will report large quantities of emissions, the resulting risk to public health is minimal. This example illustrates why TRI should be revamped to consider risks as well as emissions."
The data collected again this year by EEI on seven of the top chemicals reported to EPA for 2006 suggest that total data across the industry are not likely to be significantly different from the totals the industry reported last year. However, this cannot be verified until EPA aggregates and files its official report on 2006 data.
2006 TRI CHEMICAL RELEASE DATA
ELECTRIC UTILITY INDUSTRY 1
|
2006 Estimated Total Releases Reported to EEI (lbs.)2 |
Nameplate Coal-Based Capacity Reported to EEI (MW) |
% Nameplate Coal-Based Capacity3 |
Nameplate Oil-Based Capacity Reported to EEI (MW) |
% Nameplate Oil-Based Capacity3 |
| Hydrochloric Acid |
291,653,119 |
173,047 |
52 |
26,533 |
41 |
| Barium |
110,619,494 |
173,726 |
52 |
26,533 |
41 |
| Sulfuric Acid |
71,004,354 |
170,732 |
51 |
26,533 |
41 |
| Hydrogen Fluoride |
35,019,199 |
173,421 |
52 |
26,533 |
41 |
| Manganese |
16,199,255 |
171,144 |
51 |
26,533 |
41 |
| Vanadium |
15,084,101 |
171,947 |
52 |
26,533 |
41 |
| Nickel |
5,592,625 |
166,432 |
50 |
26,533 |
41 |
1 Reporters & Editors: Please note that these data are estimates. Release numbers should be considered final only after verified and reported by EPA. Due to differences in individual plant operations, it is not possible to extrapolate data for the entire industry from these estimates.
2 Shareholder-owned and other electric power companies voluntarily submitted estimates of the data they reported to EPA on July 1, 2007, as well as the nameplate capacity these data represent.
3 Percentages are based on data from the Energy Information Agency, Form 860 Annual Report of Electricity Generators, January 1, 2006. EIA 860 Annual Report of Electricity Generators states that the total U.S. coal-based nameplate capacity is 335,892 MW, and the total U.S. oil-based generating capacity is 64,845 MW.
For more information on electric utility TRI releases, visit EEI's web site at:
http://www.eei.org/industry_issues/environment/air/Toxics_Release_Inventory/