Major Polluters Fight to Keep Their Emission Records Secret

[The Straight Story]

Major Polluters Fight to Keep Their Emission Records Secret

Oil companies and manufacturers are fighting new rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that require businesses to submit data on the amount of air pollution they release into the atmosphere. The EPA intends to publish the detailed information on the Internet so Americans can know which companies are discharging the most greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Among the other industries affected are aluminum smelters, fertilizer producers and producers of hydrofluorocarbons, which are used as refrigerants.

For the first time, the government is mandating that companies file reports on the pollutants released from each facility, such as individual refineries and manufacturing plants. Businesses argue that this new rule could compromise trade secrets, by making specific data emissions public.

Opponents want the EPA to require a third party to collect the emissions data so they don’t have to submit it at all. Businesses also want the ability to withhold pollution information on a case-by-case basis to keep some details confidential.

http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/Major_Polluters_Fight_to_Keep_Their_Emission_Records_Secret_101101

[Hannah Bell]

1. knr. only teachers' evaluations should be public knowledge. toxins in your water -- never.

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[zabet]

3. Having worked at a Chemical plant for years....

I can honestly tell you....even data like this can be manipulated simply by the calibration settings of the online GCSs...along with a multitude of other ways. There is also a provision in the EPA laws that allow companies to classify 'less efficient' processes as 'experimental stations' which allows them far more lenient EPA emissions restrictions. Our unit operated under experimental station status for over 20 years.