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River Report Shows High Levels of Toxic Dumping

River Report Shows High Levels of Toxic Dumping - Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 4:45PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009 @ 04:45pm EDT
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY -- There are major concerns about the state's rivers and streams. A report released Wednesday shows Pennsylvania ranks sixth in the nation for toxic industrial discharges.

The report released in scranton did not have good news for our region. it found the Susquehanna River is first in the state for the amount of cancer causing chemicals that are dumped into it. ItÕs also ranked 19th in the nation for the total amount of toxic discharges at 2.6 million pounds.

Standing on the steps of City Hall in Scranton, the group Penn-Environment released the results of its latest report. The study found that 10 million pounds of toxic chemicals are being dumped into our state's waterways every year.

PennEnvironment Field Organizer Adam Garber said, ÒThe fact of the matter is that over 16,000 miles of rivers and streams in Pennsylvania are unsafe for people to go fishing in -- or to swim in -- or to get their drinking water out of. That's a serious problem for the state and something we should be outraged over."

The data comes from industrial facilities themselves. By law they have to disclose how many chemicals they dump into local rivers and streams.

The Susquehanna River may be the clear loser in this study. Researchers found 4,000 pounds of cancer causing chemicals were dumped into it in 2007.

That makes it number one in the state. ÒWe're in big trouble. Pennsylvania has always been rich in good quality waters. We were the first in the country to pass a clean water act and I'm shocked at whatÕs gone on recently," said Bernie McGurl of the Lackawanna River Corridor Association.

The Wyalusing Creek in Bradford County was also identified in the report as a trouble spot. As for the Lackawanna River, it faired rather well in the study.

ÒWe need our leaders and our elected officials to take a strong stance for protecting our waterways here in Pennsylvania," pleaded Garber.

This group says right now state leaders are not listening. They say money for environmental programs was slashed by 50% in the recent state budget.

ÒThe budget that we've gotten is, I think, one of the worst budgets for the environment in Pennsylvania history," said McGurl.

The report released does make recommendations to state and federal leaders. They include more pollution prevention efforts by local industries and tougher permitting and enforcement.
 


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