. >T m dfc* r >• - . I^Toxics Release Inven Agency - 2010 Nevada^Rjg|9j^ U.S. EPA Region 9: California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, the Pacific islands, and Tribal Nations Nevada's Releases In 2010,129 facilities reported a total of 477 mil- lion pounds of toxic chemical releases. Nevada's total reported on-site and off-site releases increased 161% (294 million pounds), when compared to 2009 data. 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; it is measured in pounds, unless stated otherwise. Total Releases for Reporting Years 2008 - 2010 Year Air Water On-Site Land Under- ground Injection Off-Site Total Releases 2008 1,555,488 160 196,366,905 0 1,874,256 199,796,810 2009 1,666,516 118 179,544,500 0 1,775,648 182,986,782 2010 1,509,948 1,293,701 472,142,276 0 2,057,218 477,003,143 Releases to the Environment Air: Air releases decreased 9% (157 thousand pounds) since 2009. Water: Water releases increased 1,096,257% (1.29 million pounds) since 2009. On-Site Land: On-site land releases increased 163% (293 million pounds) since 2009. Underground Injection: Underground Injection releases did not change since 2009. Off-Site Transfers: Total off-site transfers have increased 16% (282 thousand pounds) since 2009. Facilities with Largest Chemical Releases The top ten facilities in Nevada for total on-site and off-site releases of all chemicals were the following: Facility Name City County Total Releases 1 NEWMONT MINING CORP COPPER CANYON FACILITY BATTLE MOUNTAIN LANDER 208,127,221 2 NEWMONT MINING CORP TWIN CREEKS MiNE GOLCONDA HUMBOLDT 169,175,460 3 BARRICK GOLDSTRIKE MINES INC. ELKO ELKO 29,261,541 4 CORTEZGOLD MINES CRESCENT VALLEY LANDER 24,308,733 5 NEWMONT MINING CORP- CARLIN SOUTH AREA CARLIN EUREKA 16,357,404 6 RUBY HILL MiNE EUREKA EUREKA 10,291,679 7 JERRITT CANYON MINE ELKO ELKO 4,433,257 8 US ECOLOGY NEVADA INC. BEATTY NYE 3,433,319 9 SMOKYVALLEY COMMON OPERATION ROUND MOUNTAIN NYE 1,933,852 10 TRONOXLLC HENDERSON CLARK 1,628,068 Top 10 Released Chemicals The top released chemicals based on total on-site and off-site releases in Nevada were the following: Chemical Total Releases (pounds) Percentage of Total Releases ARSENIC & ARSENIC COMPOUNDS 271,587,258 57.0% LEAD & LEAD COMPOUNDS 84,387,335 17,7% ZINC COMPOUNDS 36,706,693 7.7% MANGANESE & MANGANESE COMPOUNDS 33,083,462 6.9% COPPER & COPPER COMPOUNDS 17,026,709 3.6% ANTIMONY & ANTIMONY COMPOUNDS 10,727,528 2.2% NITRATE COMPOUNDS 5,595,183 1.2% MERCURY & MERCURY COMPOUNDS 4,208,347 0.9% NICKEL & NICKEL COMPOUNDS 2,308,537 0.5% VANADIUM (EXCEPT WHEN CONTAINED IN ALLOY) & VANADIUM COMPOUNDS 2,017,263 0.4% ------- In determining release quantities for metal com- pounds, facilities only consider the primary metal portion of the compound. For instance, a facility reportingfor lead compounds only reports the lead portion of the lead compounds released. Starting in 2000, EPA established more stringent reporting thresholds for persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals originally on, or added to, the TRI chemical list. PBT chemicals are of par- ticular concern not only because they are toxic, but also because they remain in the environment for long periods of time, are not readily destroyed, and build up or accumulate in body tissue. The TRI PBT chemicals include dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, lead and lead compounds, mercury and mercury compounds, polycyclic aromatic com- pounds (PACs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and certain pesticides, among other chemicals. In Nevada, 89 million pounds of total (on-site and off-site) releases of PBT chemicals were reported in 2010. This is an increase of 33 million pounds or59%since 2009. Lead and lead compounds top the list again in 2010. The PBT chemicals in the table are ranked in descending order for 2010. Facilities with Largest PBT Releases The top ten facilities in Nevada for total on-site and off-site releases of PBT chemicals are: Facility Name City County Total Releases 1 NEWMONT MINING CORP. COPPER CANYON FACILITY BATTLE MOUNTAIN Lander 53,213,492 2 RUBY HILL MINE EUREKA Eureka 10,288,323 3 CORTEZGOLD MINES CRESCENT VALLEY Lander 9,984,395 4 BARRICK GOLDSTRIKE MINES INC. ELKO Elko 5,737,703 5 NEWMONT MINING CORP. TWIN CREEKS MINE GOLCONDA Humboldt 2,051,302 6 NEWMONT MINING CORP. - CARLIN SOUTH AREA CARLIN Eureka 2,050,048 7 SMOKY VALLEY COMMON OPERATION ROUND MOUNTAIN Nye 1,466,253 8 HYCROFTMINE WINNEMUCA Humboldt 1,073,159 9 BALD MOUNTAIN MINE ELKO White Pine 804,456 10 MARIGOLD MINING CO. VALMY Humboldt 662,241 For More Information See www.eoa.gov/tri for national TRI information or www.epa.gov/region09/tri for Regional TRI infor- mation, or contact Lily Lee, Toxic Release Inventory Coordinator, US EPA Region 9, at lee.lilv@epa.gov or 415-947-4187. Release data alone are not sufficient to determine exposure or to calculate potential risks to human health and the environment. TRI data, in conjunction with other information, such as the toxic- ity of the chemical, the release medium (e.g., air), and site-specific conditions, can be used as a starting point in evaluating exposures that may result from releases of toxic chemicals. Chemical Total On-Site and Off-Site Releases in pounds Percent Change 2009 2010 LEAD & LEAD COMPOUNDS 50,690,696 84,387,335 66% MERCURY & MERCURY COMPOUNDS 5,281,781 4,208,347 -20% TRIFLURALIN 3,609 3,067 -15% CHLORDANE 287 348 21% POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBs) 488 120 -75% POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC COMPOUNDS 19 23 21% BENZO(G,H,l)PERYLENE 0.28 0.16 -42% DIOXIN AND DIOXIN-LIKE COMPOUNDS* 0.016 grams 0.014 grams -14% *Releases of most Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) chemicals are in pounds. Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds data are in grams. ------- |