5
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Toxics Release Inventory Update
New Mexico-Mexico Border
Reporting Years 2005 - 2007
U.S. EPA Region 6
Texas, New Mexico,
Oklahoma,
Louisiana, Arkansas
- September 2009
The EPA made public the 2007 data on the toxic
chemicals that were released to the air, water, and land
of New Mexico's Border region.* This report provides
data from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for the
facilities in New Mexico that are located within 100
kilometers (using 109 zip code areas) of the
U.S./Mexico Border.
What is a release?
A TRI "release" is defined as the amount of a toxic
chemical released on-site (to air, water, underground
injection, landfills, and other land disposal), and the
amount transferred off-site for disposal.
Releases and health effects
It is important to note that releases should not be
directly equated with risk. To evaluate risk, release
data must be combined with information about
chemical toxicity, site-specific conditions, and
exposure. In addition, this data does not indicate
whether or not a facility is violating environmental
laws. Many of the substances reported through this
program are subject to state and federal regulations
designed to protect human health and the environment.
Who is reporting?
A facility is subject to TRI reporting requirements if it
has 10 or more full-time employee equivalents (20,000
work hours per year); is classified under a reportable
North American Industrial Classification System
(NAICS) Code; and manufactures, processes, or
otherwise uses any of the TRI chemicals in amounts
above established threshold amounts. For most
chemicals the thresholds are 25,000 pounds for
"manufactured" or "processed," and 10,000 pounds for
"otherwise used."
TRI Chemical Releases
Total (on-site and off-site) TRI chemical releases
reported in the New Mexico- Mexico Border Region
during the past three years are displayed in the chart
below:**
Total On-Site and Off-Site Releases
14 -,
12 -
10 -
O- « 6
Mi
_ 2 -
0 -
2006
Reporting Year
In 2007, reported releases in the Border area of New
Mexico (7.7 million pounds) accounted for about 34%
of the State's 22.6 million pounds of reported releases.
Total reported air releases in the Border area of New
Mexico during the past three years are displayed in the
chart below:
Total Air Releases
90
"M" 80
•
g O 50
« . 40
« | 3°
g 20
£ 10
2006
Reporting Years
* No adjustments were made to account for double counting that could occur as a result of off-site transfers of some TRI facilities also
being reported as on-site releases at permitted hazardous -waste landfills and other TRI facilities that receive the on-site transfers.
** Year to year data comparisons do not reflect changes in reporting requirements.
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New Mexico-Mexico Border - January 2009
Trends in Releases
In 2007, 8 facilities in the Border area of New Mexico
reported releases of approximately 7.7 million pounds
of toxic chemicals to the TRI Program. The following
chart tracks releases to the environment for reporting
years 2005 through 2007.
Total Releases for Reporting Years 2005 - 2007
Year
2005
2006
2007
Air
60,626
79,930
61,555
Water
0
0
6605.2
On-Site
Land
4,453,834
13,236,548
7,641 ,509
Under-
ground
Injection
0
0
0
Off-Site
4,255
1 1 ,725
453
Largest Releases by Industry Type
During 2007, three industries account for 99% of the
total 7.7 million pounds of reported releases in the
Border area of New Mexico. They are as follows:
Industry
Metal Mining
NASA
Food/Beverages/Tobacco
Total Release
(pounds)
7,104,240
465,250
1,22,263
Percentage
of Total
Releases
92%
6%
1.50%
Largest Releases by Chemical Type
The top five chemicals released in the New Mexico
Border area in 2007, ranked by total on-site and off-
site releases, are as follows:
Chemical Name
LEAD COMPOUNDS
COPPER
CHROMIUM
MANGANESE
NITRATE COMPOUNDS
Total
Release
(pounds)
5,801,417
476,209
214,010
152,626
136,263
Percentage of
Total
Releases
84%
7%
3%
2%
2%
Facilities Releasing Largest Quantities of Chemicals
Eight facilities are listed in descending order for total
on-site and off-site releases in the Border area of New
Mexico:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Facility Name
FREEPORTMCMORAN
TYRONE INC
CHINO MINES CO.
U.S. ARMY GARRISON
WHITE SANDS MISSILE
RANGE
F&A DAIRY PRODUCTS
INC
STERIGENICSUSLLC
REA MAGNET WIRE CO
INC.
FOAM EX LP.
NASA JOHNSON SPACE
CENTER WHITE SANDS
TEST FACILITY
City
TYRONE
HURLEY
WHITE
SANDS
MISSILE
RANGE
LAS
CRUCES
SANTA
TERESA
LAS
CRUCES
SANTA
TERESA
LAS
CRUCES
Total Releases
(pounds)
5,816,993 (99%
lead compounds)
1,287,247 (66%
lead compounds)
465,248 (99%
copper)
122,263 (100%
nitrate
compounds)
14,022 (100%
ethylene oxide)
5,226 (38%
phenol)
102 (100% toluene
diisocianate)
2 (100% lead)
For national information on data releases, see:
http://www.epa.gov/tri
The TRI data is available through Envirofacts
Warehouse, EPA's internet site for distributing
environmental information at:
http://www.epa.gov/enviro
or the TRI Explorer tool:
http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer
U.S. EPA Region 6 Border Program
Claudia Ortega (915) 533-7233
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