Toxic releases from coal mines fell in last two years, EPA says

摘要

On-site and off-site releases of toxic substances by coal mines declined almost 10 percent from 1998 to 1999, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.The industry released 11.75 million pounds of toxics in 1999, compared to 13.02 million pounds the previous year, a 9.7 percent drop. Most of the 1999 releases, 9.6 million pounds, were released on-site to land, with air emissions accounting for another 1.8 million pounds of releases, EPA said in releasing data from the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). Emissions to surface water and underground injection made up the balance of the releases.