Toxic Exposure: How Texas Chemical Council Members Pollute State Politics & the EnvironmentHome

home | table of contents | previous | next

IV. Chemical Council Toxic Releases 

As measured by sheer tonnage of pollution, Chemical Council members are extraordinarily productive.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains the Toxics Release Inventory to keep track of more than 650 recognized and suspected toxic chemicals that industry releases into the air, land and water. Texas plants owned by Chemical Council members and their parent companies released more of these toxic chemicals on their premises (187 million pounds) in 1996 than the total statewide amount released in every state other than Texas.

Along with their parent companies, the 98 Chemical Council members reported total onsite toxic chemical releases that accounted for a staggering 74 percent of Texas’ toxic load. Chemical Council members released these toxins into Texas’ waters, sky and land or injected them into underground wells.

 
 
Chemical Council Members Produce 74% of Texas’ Toxic Releases 
Type of Onsite
TRI Release
Texas
Total (Lbs.)
TCC Total (Lbs.)
TCC Share of
Texas' Total
Air
127,219,880
84,857,473
67%
Injection
91,979,394
83,027,621
90%
Water 
18,881,567
18,560,397
98%
Land
15,325,619
843,758
6%
All Releases
253,406,460
187,289,249
74%
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1996 Toxics Release Inventory.
 

Air
Chemical Council members spewed 85 million pounds of toxins into Texas skies in 1996, accounting for 67 percent of Texas’ total toxic air pollution. Venting almost 11 million pounds of toxins into Texas skies, Huntsman Corp. led Chemical Council members in toxic air emissions. Huntsman’s Port Arthur plant led the way with more than 8 million pounds of propylene, one of the volatile organic chemicals that help form the ozone in smog. Thanks in no small part to Huntsman, the Beaumont-Port Arthur area flunks federal ozone air-quality standards. The plant produced 13 percent of the area’s industrial VOC emissions in 1996, according to the TNRCC.7 This plant is the nation’s No. 1 emitter of the human carcinogen benzene.

Underground Injection
Chemical Council members injected 83 million pounds of TRI toxins into underground wells in Texas, accounting for 90 percent of Texas’ TRI underground injection total. DuPont’s Victoria plant was Texas’ biggest toxic injector, pumping more than 14 million pounds of nitric acid underground. Thanks to these massive injections, DuPont led all other toxic members in overall Texas TRI releases.

Water
Chemical Council members dumped 19 million pounds of toxins into Texas waters in 1996, accounting for an astonishing 98 percent of Texas’ toxic water pollution. Blowing the competition out of the water, BASF Corp. dumped more than 14 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Texas waters, accounting for 75 percent of the toxic water total for all Chemical Council members. Nitrate compounds from the Freeport plant of this German company accounted for most of this pollution.

Land
Finally, Chemical Council members dumped 843,758 pounds of toxins onto Texas lands, or 6 percent of the Texas total in this category. Shell Oil’s Deer Park plant led, with its land disposal of 250,000 pounds of 4,4’-isopropylidenediphenol.
 

       

Chemical Council Members Trash Texas 
Pounds of Onsite Toxic Releases in Texas in 1996 
TCC Member's
Parent Company
Total
Water
Underground
Injection
Air
Land
DuPont
40,461,147
211,522
36,718,368
3,518,714
12,543
BASF Corp.
17,125,885
14,008,691
2,582,370
534,824
0
Hoechst Celanese
11,530,292
13,471
9,343,526
2,061,872
111,423
Huntsman Corp.
10,803,893
20,679
52
10,714,341
68,821
BP (British Petroleum)
10,747,778
756
10,537,100
201,818
8,104
Mobil Corp.
10,335,157
58,519
0
10,276,605
33
Sterling Chemicals
10,291,983
1,230
9,169,033
1,121,720
0
Amoco Corp.
8,199,480
157,462
2,071,700
5,942,074
28,244
Phillips Petroleum
5,995,419
54,648
2,031,495
3,854,229
55,047
Dow Chemical
5,243,024
304,105
0
4,756,122
182,797
Eastman Chemical
4,241,661
3,130
156,000
4,058,531
24,000
Bayer Corp.
3,948,130
2,288,295
0
1,659,835
0
Union Carbide
3,794,600
6,614
0
3,786,645
1,341
Atlantic Richfield (ARCO)
3,622,348
70
2,468,631
1,153,509
138
Exxon Corp.
3,405,677
200,747
0
3,117,648
87,282
Millennium Chemicals
3,112,649
2,913
0
3,109,736
0
Chevron Corp.
3,028,919
63,810
0
2,963,299
1,810
Lyondell Petrochemical
3,020,392
20,052
0
3,000,340
0
Int'l Specialty Products
2,984,800
288
2,965,572
18,940
0
Merichem Co.
2,725,324
3,841
2,679,000
42,483
0
Shell
2,686,525
259,089
0
2,170,009
257,427
Goodyear Tire
1,977,070
114,326
0
1,862,366
378
ALCOA
1,910,164
2,003
0
1,904,842
3319
Novus Int'l Inc.
1,603,436
0
1,603,400
36
0
FINA Inc.
1,244,286
670
0
1,243,533
83
Rohm & Haas Co.
1,149,514
373,771
0
775,743
0
Occidental Petroleum
1,098,954
17,130
1,500
1,080,324
0
Coastal Corp.
1,053,192
2,943
0
1,049,290
959
Lyondell-CITGO Refining*
988,112
0
0
988,111
1
Bridgestone/Firestone
844,917
0
0
844,917
0
DuPont Dow Elastomers*
771,848
128
0
771,720
0
Formosa Plastics
662,168
7,181
0
654,987
0
Solvay America
617,631
0
0
617,631
0
Elf Atochem
583,140
5
483,370
99,765
0
Baker Hughes (Petrolite)
458,616
8,121
0
450,495
0
Reynolds Metals
454,027
0
0
454,027
0
CITGO
431,018
273,784
0
157,234
0
Enron Corp.
387,575
0
0
387,575
0
Lubrizol Corp.
303,333
18,482
0
284,851
0
Hampshire Chemical
292,234
362
8,759
283,113
0
Mitsubishi (Aristech)
267,365
1,388
0
265,977
0
Montell
248,668
0
0
248,668
0
TX Petrochemicals
236,446
25,692
0
210,754
0
Witco Corp.
235,073
5
207,745
27,323
0
Shintech Inc.
229,294
29,034
0
200,260
0
DX Holdings (Dixie Chem.)
214,831
0
0
214,831
0
USX (Marathon Oil)
200,890
1,090
0
199,800
0
Geon Co.
171,289
2,206
0
169,083
0
Allied-Signal Inc.
150,781
0
0
150,781
0
Zeneca
149,968
0
0
149,968
0
Akzo Nobel
120,653
81
0
120,572
0
Albemerle Corp.
97,024
364
0
96,660
0
Georgia Gulf Corp.
96,806
21
0
96,781
4
PD Glycol (DuPont-Oxy)*
89,920
0
0
89,920
0
Air Products & Chemicals
78,480
0
0
78,480
0
Creekside Industries
69,640
40
0
69,600
0
Eval Co. 
65,249
0
0
65,249
0
Catalyst Res. (Mallinckrodt)
62,639
0
0
62,639
0
Kaneka Texas Corp.
56,750
0
0
56,750
0
Ethyl Corp.
50,455
260
0
50,195
0
MEMC
37,274
0
0
37,274
0
Carpenter Co.
31,989
0
0
31,989
0
Ausimont Financial Corp.
31,479
0
0
31,479
0
PPG Industries. Inc.
28,807
26
0
28,781
0
Roche Holdings 
21,157
492
0
20,665
0
Reichhold Chemicals
17,589
0
0
17,589
0
Nalco/Exxon Chemicals
15,402
0
0
15,402
0
Schenectady Int'l
14,170
100
0
14,070
0
FMC Corp.
12,922
0
0
12,922
0
CBI Industries (Praxair)
12,555
0
0
12,555
0
Reilly Industries
7,398
0
0
7,398
0
Olin Corp.
5,072
0
0
5,072
0
GNI Group Inc.
4,866
0
0
4,866
0
Lonza Inc.
4,824
0
0
4,824
0
KMCO Inc.
4,605
760
0
3,845
0
BetzDearborn
4,586
0
0
4,586
0
Sea Lion Inc.
3,629
0
0
3,629
0
Ashland Chemical
1,762
0
0
1,762
0
Total America (Sartomer)
510
0
0
510
0
Air Liquide America
107
0
0
107
0
Global Octanes Corp.
7
0
0
3
4
Total Lbs. Toxic Pollution
187,289,249
18,560,397
83,027,621
84,857,473
843,758
% of All TX TRI Releases
74%
98%
90%
67%
6%
*Joint venture formed by two Chemical Council members.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1996 Toxics Release Inventory.
 
 

home | table of contents | previous | next