EPA Releases Updated 2023 Data for the Toxics Release Inventory

Red Dog Mine Ranked as Top Polluter in the Country

ANCHORAGE, AK – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new 2023 data late last week in the national Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) on chemical releases, waste management, and pollution prevention. This year, Alaska was ranked ninth out of 56 states/territories based on total releases per square mile. In terms of the overall volume of toxic releases, Alaska released 899.5 million pounds out of a total of 3.3 billion pounds in the United States.

According to the 2023 TRI factsheet, 897.8 million pounds of TRI-covered chemicals were disposed on-site onto the land in Alaska. The total on-site land disposal of chemicals in the U.S. was 2.2 billion pounds – meaning the state of Alaska was accountable for more than 40 percent of the nation’s total this year. Facilities released a total of 927,300 pounds of TRI-covered chemicals into the water, and 366,000 pounds were emitted into the air, with more than 200,000 pounds containing naphthalene, a known carcinogen.

The top five facilities in Alaska with the highest releases were all metal mining facilities. Red Dog Operations in the northwest Arctic was the highest polluting facility in the country, releasing a total of 771.3 million pounds of TRI-covered chemicals into the environment – the highest number in the nation by more than 500 million pounds. That includes approximately 399.5 million pounds of zinc compounds, 344.8 million pounds of lead and lead compounds, and 18.8 million pounds of manganese and manganese compounds. They released 7,022.31 pounds of those chemicals into the water containing ammonia, cyanide, copper and zinc. Red Dog Operations has consistently been a top polluter in Alaska, releasing millions of pounds of toxic chemicals every year since operations began in 1989.

The TRI tracks the management of chemicals on the TRI chemical list that pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain facilities must report annually the amounts of each chemical recycled, combusted for energy recovery, treated for destruction, or disposed of. The 2023 data include reports from facilities in industries including metal mining, electric power generation, chemical manufacturing, and hazardous waste treatment.

All of the state’s production-related chemical waste (899.5 million pounds in 2023) was disposed of or otherwise released into the environment, a 16% increase from 2022. This is the least safe method of waste management under the EPA’s management hierarchy.

According to the TRI Toxics Tracker, the chemicals with the highest release volumes included zinc compounds (415 million pounds) and lead compounds (354 million pounds). Inorganic lead compounds are considered a probable carcinogen by EPA and are known to cause cardiovascular, developmental, neurological, and reproductive harms. Other known carcinogens released by facilities include arsenic compounds (5.6 million pounds) and chromium compounds (4.7 million pounds). Facilities in Alaska released a total of 280,252 pounds of mercury compounds, which are known to cause irreparable harm to the developing brain and nervous system.

Exposure to lead has been widely proven to affect the central nervous system and cause irreversible brain, kidney, and reproductive damage, especially to children and pregnant women. Studies suggest that there is no acceptable level of exposure to lead.

The manufacturing process of mining these metal pollutants has a negative effect on the environment and human health. Ingesting large doses of zinc can cause stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting. Long-term effects include anemia and a decrease in good cholesterol. Chronic exposure to manganese damages multiple organs and can cause various symptoms related to neurotoxicity including cognitive dysfunction, Parkinson’s disease, manganism, a condition that can lead to a variety of psychiatric and motor disturbances, and dystonia, a neurological movement disorder.

The TRI data reflect the mining industry’s threat to vital state drinking water sources, and fish and wildlife habitat. Immense piles of mine waste often leach toxic solutions containing heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, as well as toxicants such as arsenic into ground and surface water. This report is an important public information tool available for people who live near mines in Alaska. Indigenous communities are often the most directly harmed by mining and may be exposed to higher levels of metal pollution.

“The TRI report is one of the most important public information tools available for people who live near and work in mines,” said Jasmine Jemewouk, Water Quality and Community Health Coordinator with Alaska Community Action on Toxics. “The effects of exposure to toxic chemicals on public health include chronic diseases such as asthma, cancers, neurological impairment, and immune system and reproductive disorders.  This report sheds light on the polluting mining industry; it’s up to the Alaska public to hold the industry accountable for reducing and eliminating toxic releases that are harmful to human health and the environment.”

“Every community has the right to clean air and water,” said Pamela Miller, Executive Director and Senior Scientist with Alaska Community Action on Toxics. “Mining companies must be accountable for their actions and clean up their messes. If we let them destroy Alaska, we destroy our future.”

The EPA publishes its TRI report annually, which documents pollution levels released by industries and federal facilities. Complete TRI data is available from EPA at: http://www.epa.gov/tri.

For more information on toxic releases in Alaska, go to: www.akaction.org.

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