A big decrease in the amount of toxic chemicals released into the air by industrial facilities across the Virgin Islands was the result of the Hovensa closure in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a news release issued Tuesday.
“The Toxics Release Inventory allows the public and policymakers to better understand the pollutants released into our air, water and land each year," EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck said.
"This powerful tool helps people better understand pollution problems in their communities and take action to protect their health and the environment."
The 2012 report issued Tuesday on the amount of toxic chemicals released to the land, air and water showed a decrease of 83 percent over the previous year. Total reported releases to land, air and water decreased from about 1.8 million pounds in 2011 to 0.3 million pounds in 2012.
The Toxics Release Inventory report issued by EPA covers four of the territory’s facilities that are required to report their releases: the St. Thomas Bulk Terminal at Cyril E. King Airport, facilities on St. Thomas and St. Croix operated by the V.I. Water and Power Authority and the Hovensa petroleum refinery.
Since 1988, Toxic Release Inventory data has been provided to the public annually to help people learn more about the chemicals present in their local environment and to gauge environmental trends over time.
The inventory contains the most comprehensive information about chemicals released into the environment reported annually by certain industries and federal facilities. Most of these facilities have permits issued under federal regulations that set strict limits on the amount of chemicals that they are allowed to release into the air, water or land. Many are required to install and maintain pollution controls.
Facilities must report their toxic chemical releases by July 1 of each year. Nationally more than 20,000 facilities reported on approximately 682 chemicals and chemical categories for calendar year 2012.
To view the U.S. Virgin Island’s TRI fact sheet, visit http://epa.gov/triexplorer/statefactsheet.htm.
