Power emissions and waste make up largest portion of industrial pollution

Electricity plant emissions and waste made up the largest portion of industrial pollution in Canada and the United States in 1998, according to a report issued. The study by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation said the power plant releases amounted to more than 40 % of air pollution that year and 25 % of all industrial pollution.
It cited the US states of Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania as the top three polluters of 1998, followed by the Canadian province of Ontario. Created under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the commission compiles an annual survey of pollution sources titled "Taking Stock." This year's report, its fifth, was the first to include the electricity industry.

The information comes from mandatory industry reports, and commission spokesman Charles Dickson acknowledged the study was unable to provide a comprehensive summary of pollution in North America. Mexico has yet to start reporting on its pollution, and some sectors of US and Canadian industries such as motor vehicles, agriculture and some kinds of mining also lack reporting systems.
"We just take the data that the governments give us," Dickson said, adding that if total figures for all pollution were available, the study would show that "the overall picture is worse." According to the report, 77 % of air pollution from electricity plants in 1998 was hydrochloric and sulfuric acid that can become acid rain.

Other industries listed as major polluters were the metals sector, which includes steel mills -- along with the chemical industry, the hazardous waste management industry and paper producers. Ohio ranked first among states for pollutants, reporting 135,820 tons, followed by 106,000 tons of Texas and Pennsylvania's 94,483 tons. Along with Ontario's 89,000 tons, the top four combined for 26 % of the overall figure of 1.6 mm tons in 1998.
Janine Ferretti, executive director of the commission, noted that comparing statistics from the panel's previous reports showed minor declines in some areas, butsaid the overall figures remained too high. She cited the 84,000 tons amount of carcinogens released into the air in 1998 as a particular concern. Carcinogenic substances are those listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the US National Toxicological Program as promoting cancer.