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February 22, 2008

Maine sees decline in industrial pollution

Maine's industrial tenants released roughly 10.6 million pounds of pollution in 2006, an 8.4% drop from the amount released in 2005, according to numbers released yesterday by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA's Toxic Release Inventory for Maine includes data collected from more than 100 mills and other businesses, Robert Gardner, a spokesman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, told Mainebiz this morning. McCain Foods' factory in Easton was the largest source of toxic emissions, releasing 2.3 million pounds in 2006, according to the EPA. Verso Paper's mill in Jay, NewPage Corp.'s mill in Rumford, Sappi Fine Paper North America's mill in Skowhegan, and the Domtar mill in Baileyville rounded off the top five sources of emissions.

Despite the fact that more chemicals are being monitored today than 10 years ago, Gardner said the overall amount of toxic chemicals being released into Maine's air and rivers has probably decreased 10% to 12% over the past decade. Maine's 2006 TRI report can be found here.

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