Industrial Pollution
Environment America and the Environmental Protection Agency have made available the June 2009 report "Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act" on U.S. waterway quality available, revealing the Mississippi River's toxic contents. The report says 12,811,400 pounds of toxic chemicals are choking Louisiana waterways, which is ranked the fifth most polluted nationwide.
ExxonMobil was named one of the highest polluters, discharging more than 4.2 million pounds of chemical waste in the Mississippi River. Its facility was the largest reported polluter in 2007. The Mississippi River ranked as the third highest polluted waterway in the nation with a total toxic discharge of more than 12.7 million pounds of waste. These chemical cocktails contain lead, mercury and dioxin, among other toxins, including chemicals links to reproductive problems, birth defects and cancer. The report says industrial facilities dumped 87,896 pounds of cancer-linked chemicals into the Mississippi. Read the full report at www.environmentamerica.org. — Alex Woodward
Comments (1)
Showing 1-1 of 1
