Frank Lautenberg: “Today the Environmental Protection Agency is making public its annual inventory of toxic chemical releases. This…”

“Today the Environmental Protection Agency is making public its annual inventory of toxic chemical releases. This information is made available to the public under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act which I authored in 1986. EPA announced today a 45.6 percent decrease nationwide in the release of toxic chemicals since 1988, when these data were first collected. In my State of New Jersey, which has a large chemical industry, releases were reduced by a stunning 70 percent. Mr. President, the right-to-know law has been an enormous success. Shedding the light of day on toxic pollution has encouraged industries to find ways to reduce the threat of these cancer causing materials to our communities. We should build on that success. Today I am introducing with Senators Torricelli, Boxer, Kerry, Graham, Kennedy and Wellstone the Right-to-Know More and Pollution Prevention Act of 1997, which will significantly expand the public's right-to-know about toxic chemicals in their homes, workplaces, and communities.”