Great Lakes Article:

BP refinery, Gary Works among leading polluters
By Tim Zorn
Post-Tribune (IN)
Published February 9, 2006

Two Northwest Indiana industries have been among the largest polluters in the Great Lakes, according to a report being released today.

The report, “Partners in Pollution,” compares releases to air and water reported by U.S. and Canadian industries and power plants in 2002.

“It’s the first report in 10 years that specifically looks at pollution in the Great Lakes,” said Gary resident Lin Kaatz Chary, working for Great Lakes United. “People have the impression that the Great Lakes have been pretty well cleaned up, and this demonstrates that we have a long way to go.”

Two Canadian environmental organizations compared data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI).

The ranking of facilities with the largest releases of water pollutants puts U.S. Steel’s Gary Works at the top, with 1.3 million kilograms of nitric acid and nitrates released in 2002.

U.S. Steel spokesman John Armstrong said all of Gary Works’ releases were allowed by its water permit.

“We monitor them daily and work hard to keep within the permitted levels,” he said.

U.S. Steel also ranked third for amount of pollutants sent to an on-site landfill.

The BP refinery in Whiting ranked 10th in the Great Lakes basin for air releases, putting more than 1.3 million kilograms of materials into the air in 2002.

For more information

“Partners in Pollution: An Assessment of Continuing Canadian and United States Contributions to Great Lakes Pollution,” is to be available, starting today, at this site: www.pollutionwatch.org