Since 1989, reported releases have decreased by 20 million pounds. Reductions by manufacturers have reached 50 percent, and releases of the core group of chemicals have been reduced by 30 percent. It's good for business, good for the public and good for the ecosystem. The lower numbers also are partly due to more precision in estimating releases of permitted chemicals, he said. Methanol was the most-released chemical, at 4.5 million pounds.
Methanol is released into the air primarily from the pulping process at paper mills.
Carbonyl sulfide was the next-highest chemical release reported. It is primarily a product of the aluminum industry. Paper and allied-products companies reported 10 million pounds of all chemical releases in Washington. In 1999, the largest amount of toxic chemicals released in the state was reported in Cowlitz County, with 3.9 million pounds. However, this represented half-million pound decrease from 1998.