TL: WE ALL LIVE DOWNSTREAM: TOXIC POLLUTION IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (GP) SO: Greenpeace USA DT: 1989 Keywords: toxics effluent rivers contaminated us hazardous waste mississippi greenpeace summary reports gp / SUMMARY OF FINDINGS U.S. industries are generating 600 billion pounds of hazardous waste and 15 trillion pounds of "non-hazardous" waste each year. Directly or via disposal facilities, these wastes enter the ecosystem. The impacts of this gargantuan quantity of waste upon public health and the environment in the U.S. and in the Mississippi River Basin in particular demand broad changes in environmental policies, regulations, and cultural values to phase-out the use of ecocidal chemicals and to eliminate the generation and discharge of toxic wastes. Nowhere is the toxics crisis more apparent than along the Mississippi River, where an extraordinary number of industrial, agricultural, and municipal sources of toxic chemicals have caused extensive damage to the river ecosystem. According to U.S. EPA, over half of the industrial toxic pollutants discharged to U.S. surface waters are dumped directly into the Mississippi. ECOSYSTEM CONTAMINATION From St. Paul to the Gulf of Mexico, dozens of toxic pollutants are present in the water, sediment, and living creatures of the Mississippi. The highest concentrations of certain contaminants occur downstream from industrialized areas, including Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Louis, Memphis, Calvert City (Kentucky), and Baton Rouge. The riverUs toxic hotspot is LouisianaUs Chemical Corridor, where chemical manufacturers discharge over 200 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the river each year. Pesticides: At least 24 pesticides have accumulated in the tissues of Mississippi River fish. Pesticide contamination of the riverUs fish has been noted in all ten states bordering the river. In Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Arkansas, high levels of pesticide contaminants have led to advisory bans on fish consumption. Annually, at least 212,000 pounds of pesticides flow down the river past the Water Laboratory of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Halocarbons: The halocarbons -- chemicals in which a carbon atom is bonded to a halogen (chlorine, bromine, fluorine or iodine) - - include some of the most toxic and persistent chemicals known to science,many of which build up in the food chain, cause cancer and birth defects and/or result in the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. At least 54 halocarbons have been detected in the river ecosystem. PCBs have been found in fish taken from the river in every state from Minnesota to Lousiana. Polychlorinated dioxins and furans have also been found in fish tissues at sampling points in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Lousiana. Other highly toxic halocarbons have been found in fish from river stretches up to 150 miles downstream from major chemical manufacturers in St. Louis, Memphis, and Louisiana. The river carries an average of at least 24 million pounds of halocarbons past Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, each year. Other Synthetic Chemicals: At least 47 other hydrocarbons have been detected in the river ecosystem. Aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatics, plasticizers, etc. have been found in fish and river sediments near major chemical manufacturers and other industrial facilities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana. An average of at least 298,000 pounds of these chemicals flow past Jefferson Parish each year. Heavy Metals: In all ten states bordering the river, high levels of heavy metals have been found in the riverUs fish or sediments. Contamination is most severe in the areas immediately downstream from industrial facilities and sewage treatment plants. Fish consumption advisories for heavy metals have been issued in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. At least 188 million pounds of heavy metals flow down the river past Jefferson Parish each year. Mississippi River pollution has resulted in excess heavy metal concentrations in marine organisms in the Gulf of Mexico. The Dead Zone: Beginning at the river's mouth, the Gulf of Mexico contains a 2.4 million acre dead zone which cannot support aquatic life due in part to excessive quantities of nutrients, such as nitro-gen, swept into the Gulf by the river. HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS In the counties along the Mississippi, age-adjusted mortality rates are 3% higher than the rest of counties in the nation; on the lower river, they are 14% higher than the rest of the nation. The highest rates occur in Louisiana, Memphis, and St. Louis. The extraordinary cancer mortality rates along the Mississippi follow a similar pattern. Cancer rates in the Louisiana parishes of the Chemical Corridor are among the highest in the nation. Use of the Mississippi River as a drinking water source has been linked to excess rates of cancer in Louisiana. SOURCES OF TOXIC POLLUTION The 106 major industrial and municipal facilities surveyed in this report discharge over 468 million pounds per year of toxic chemicals to the river or into publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) which discharge their effluents to the Mississippi. Each year, these facilities release a total of 1.43 billion pounds of toxic chemicals to the environment via wastewater discharges, air emissions, or waste disposal. Pesticide Use and Manufacture: Pesticide use in counties along the Mississippi averages 91 percent higher than the rest of the counties in the nation. Eight major pesticide manufacturing facilities on the river discharge over 17 million pounds per year of toxic chemicals into the river or its POTWs. These facilities release a total of 26 million pounds per year of toxic pollutants to the environment. Chemical Manufacturers: 84 major chemical manufacturers along the river discharge 315 million pounds per year of toxic chemicals to the river or its POTWs, and a total of 1.35 billion pounds per year to the environment. Total toxicity of releases from these facilities -- especially from manufacturers of halocarbons -- are more severe than any other category of sources. Sewage Treatment Plants: Of the 621 publicly-owned treatment works which discharge into the river, the facilities of the Twin Cities, Chicago, St. Louis, Sauget (Illinois), and Memphis together discharge at least 4 million pounds per year of toxic chemicals into the Missisisppi River or its tributaries, and a total of 27 million pounds per year to the environment via water discharges, air emissions, or sludge disposal. Pulp and Paper Mills: The six mills on the river which use chlorine to bleach wood pulp discharge over 28 million pounds per year of halocarbons to the river, including approximately 24,000 milligrams of dioxin (based on EPAUs toxic equivalency factors for all dioxins and furans). Dioxins have been found in the wastewater, sludge, and paper products of every one of these facilities for which data was available. Hazardous Waste Disposal Facilities: At least 100 hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities (TSDs) -- landfills, incinerators and injection wells -- are located in the immediate vicinity of the river. Like all TSDs, these facilities disperse toxic pollutants into the air, groundwater, and/or soil.