Georgia PIRG . Georgia PIRG, an environmental, consumer, and good government advocacy organization released a report that found toxic pollution threatens the environment and public health throughout Georgia. The report documents the top ten reported chemicals released in the largest amount to Georgia's waterways, the top ten companies reporting the most pollution, the known and potential health hazards these chemicals pose, and how Georgia compares to the rest of the country.
Industries report releasing millions of pounds of toxic chemicals to Georgia's waterways every year.
If we don't address this pollution now, we'll leave a legacy of tainted waters for future generations. Georgia PIRG examined the Toxics Release Inventory, a federal database of toxic releases reported by industrial facilities to get an overall picture of toxic releases to Georgia's waterways. For the ten-year period of 1988 through 1997, Georgia ranked ninth in the nation for the total reported releases to waterways, with nearly 49 million pounds of reported toxic chemical releases to water. While other states had shown a decrease in toxic releases to waterways, Georgia's trend for toxic releases appeared to be increasing. Something needs to be done about the millions of pounds of dangerous chemicals industries discharge to our water every year.