A federal appeals court ruled May 10 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can no longer require chemical facilities to report methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) releases under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). According to the 2003 TRI data, facilities released over 26 million pounds of MEK to the environment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 12, 2005 Contact: Herb Ettel or Sean Moulton, 202-234-8494 OMB Watch, 1742 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009 www.rtknet.org www.ombwatch.org Washington, D.C., May 12, 2005 -- The Right-to-Know Network (RTK NET) published the 2003 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data today, providing public access to important Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data on the release and transfer of toxic chemicals in the United States.

Statement by Working Group on Community Right to Know, OMB Watch Project Hazardous chemicals at BP Amoco’s Texas City refinery exploded early Wednesday afternoon, March 23, killing 14 and injuring over 100. The massive explosion also destroyed buildings and vehicles, and shook residents’ homes up to five miles away.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed one database from its public website and slightly altered another due to a Data Quality Act (DQA) challenge submitted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber submitted the request May 26, 2004, asserting that physical and chemical property information in several EPA databases was erroneous because the data was inconsistent and contradictory between the different databases. The differing information leads to vastly different cleanup cost estimates for contaminated sites, according to the Chamber.