Spring, 1997
Right to Know--A Lot!
by Mary O'Brien
On November 5, 1996, Eugene, Oregon voted 55%-45% to learn how toxic chemicals pass through Eugene manufacturing facilities and hazardous waste and medical waste incinerators. The city charter amendment, passed as an initiative, states that "...[A]ll hazardous substance users in Eugene shall file an annual, public, materials balance report listing inputs and outputs of all hazardous substances obtained, used, or generated."
There are at least five features to this reporting process that are unusual:
(1) the low threshold (if a facility uses a total of 2,640 pounds of hazardous chemicals a year, it qualifies for reporting);
(2) the completeness of the reporting (each hazardous chemical's inputs and outputs must balance, down to 2.2 pounds a year);
(3) the comprehensiveness of the chemicals list (which is essentially all chemicals deemed hazardous in any federal law);
(4) the directness of reporting (manufacturers report to the public library); and
(5) the handling of trade secrets (any facility claiming trade secrecy for a chemical must hire an independent auditor to report annually to the community whether the manufacturer could be using a less hazardous process or chemical). The reporting industries pay all costs of implementing the law, except during the first year of set-up.
A Toxics Board develops reporting forms, oversees the process, and enforces the law. Appointed by the City Council, the Board consists of three members representing reporting facilities, three citizens with a track record of advocating for the public's right to know, and a seventh member nominated by at least four of the other six members.
The campaign to pass this law was grassroots, with a simple message: "Private industry's use of toxic chemicals isn't private because the chemicals enter a community's air, water, and land. You have a right to know what you're having to breathe, drink, and eat." The campaign logo was a fish skeleton joined to a human head with a plus for its eye (indicating poisoning). This logo and the slogan, "Ignorance is Toxic," was printed on a square yellow sign such as those at school crossings.
Opposition to the campaign consisted of two contradictory claims: "We already report this information publicly," and "This reporting will be expensive and burdensome." The retort? If companies already report this information to various agencies, then it will take about an hour each year for each company to fill out the input-output forms. If, on the other hand, reporting the information will be expensive, then it means the facility doesn't currently know where its chemicals are going.
Several companies have brought suit against the law, on a variety of claims. The Western Environmental Law Center is representing citizens intervening on behalf of the City to defend the law. Meanwhile, the process is underway. Two authors of the initiative, Steve Johnson and Mary O'Brien, have been appointed to the Toxics Board. One of the appointed industry members is Vice-President of Molecular Probes, which is one of the corporations that is suing to void the law. The Board is in the process of selecting its seventh member. Draft reporting forms are due from the Board by late April 1997, and companies will begin tracking their hazardous chemicals for the public on January 1, 1998. It's all interesting.
Mary O'Brien is a member of Citizens for Public Accountability
For more informtion, contact Citizens for Public Accountability; P.O. Box 3708; Eugene, OR 97403.
Return to Newsletter Archive
