EMISSIONS OF TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY LISTED CHEMICALS FROM MSW LANDFILLS AND FEDERAL RIGHT TO KNOW PROGRAMS

摘要

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is considering expanding the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) to include releases from sanitary services including municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. Information about release of TRI-listed chemicals from MSW landfills under federal community right to know laws is scattered throughout the literature and difficult for the general public to obtain. Reports prepared by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) considering TRI expansion to include MSW landfills recognized the quantity and diversity of toxic compounds, some carcinogenic, present in landfill gases and leachate. Both the USEPA and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) have existing and complementary authorities which could get this information into the public domain without imposing a major regulatory burden. This two-part discussion summarizes existing literature on emissions of TRI-listed chemicals from landfills and examines the extent and limits of each agency's program evaluating Environmental Health and Safety impacts of landfill emissions.