A newly released Environmental Protection Agency report shows an increase of toxic chemical releases in Maine.
The EPA Toxic Release Inventory for 2022, known as TRI, finds that Maine has 78 facilities that use up to 25 thousand pounds of toxic chemicals such as methanol, ammonia, zinc and nitrate compounds that can harm human health and the environment.
The report reveals that paper mills Sappi NA, ND, and Woodland Pulp and food processor McCains Foods account for 86 percent of the toxic emissions to air, water and landfills here. And the release of pollutants into the environment increased by 10 percent over 2021 due to larger amounts of waste being sent to landfills.
Chris Rascher, TRI coordinator for the EPA in New England, said the landfill growth is due in part to waste coming from two paper mills that burn fuel derived from discarded tires.
"So tires that would otherwise go to landfills go to these facilities to be used as an energy sources. It does have an ash and that ash contains a lot of zinc compound and that's what is being trucked to the landfills," Rascher said.
Rascher said landfills are permitted by the state so that ash is controlled and regulated, and reporting under TRI does not indicate illegal discharges of pollutants into the environment.
Maine's Department of Environmental Protection said additional landfill waste is also coming from municipalities because it's less expensive to use landfills than it is to recycle.
Deputy Commissioner Dave Madore wrote in an email that the DEP is studying waste streams to identify infrastructure necessary to improve waste diversion programs. The state also has a new law that will require packaging producers to make payments into a stewardship fund that could help municipalities with recycling costs and reduce their reliance on landfills.
The EPA said reporting under TRI does not indicate illegal discharges of pollutants to the environment, and it's important to make the data available to the public and work with states to provide regulatory oversight of facilities to reduce pollution.
Dr. Gail Carlson, Director of Buck Lab for Climate and Environment at Colby College, said the tracking of TRI data is supposed to incentivize polluters to cut emissions.
"We have to be vigilant because, you know, there's still a lot of pollution out there. In some cases, pollution levels that are being reported may be actually increasing. That's not a good thing. We need to be going in the other direction," Carlson said.
Peter Steele, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications at Sappi North America, released this statement about the paper mill's waste disposal.
"As one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Maine, Sappi’s Somerset Mill is inevitably going to be more susceptible to this scrutiny and ranking. ...With its best-in-class chemical management practices, Sappi is recognized for being a leader in sustainability and is committed to providing a safe environment for all of the communities it operates in."
The EPA report does reveal that Maine has made some gains. The data show that over ten years Maine air emissions decreased from 4.3 million pounds to 2.0 million pounds, and total releases to air, water and land decreased by 40 percent.
The agency says toxic chemical releases have declined 21 percent nationally over 10 years.
Maine ranks 45 out of 56 states/territories nationwide based on total releases per square mile, with rank 1 representing the state with the highest releases.
To learn more about Maine's TRI, visit this link from the EPA.
To learn about emissions where you live, use this EPA link.