US polluters revealed
Tuesday 11 July 2006
A list of the worst polluting companies in the US
has been published, in a bid to usher in tighter corporate air pollution
regulations. The ‘Toxic 100’, from the Political Economy Research Institute
(PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, looked at the polluters from the
‘Fortune 500’, ‘Forbes 500’ and ‘Standard & Poor’s 500’ lists of the
country’s leading corporations. The statistics were based on hundreds of
industrial facilities across the US.
The data takes into account not just the quantity of greenhouse gas
released, but other issues such as the levels of toxicity and proximity to
communities – giving a clear assessment as to the real environmental impact
of a company’s operations.
The worst ranking companies in the assessment were E.I. DuPont de Nemours &
Co., US Steel, ConocoPhillips, GE, and Eastman Kodak.
"The Toxic 100 informs consumers and shareholders which large corporations
release the most toxic pollutants into our air," commented James K. Boyce,
director of PERI's environment program. "We measure not just how many pounds
of pollutants are released, but which are the most toxic and how many people
are at risk. People have a right to know about toxic hazards to which they
are exposed. Legislators need to understand the effects of pollution on
their constituents."
|
