BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Southwest Ohio residents are exposed to a toxic brew of chemicals linked to cancer and reproduction and development problems, environmentalists complained Wednesday.
Butler and Hamilton counties ranked eighth and 12th statewide for known and suspected carcinogens, and Hamilton County was second for chemicals tied to reproductive and child development problems or interference with the human endocrine system.
Clermont and Warren counties were far down all of the rankings. Those were among key findings by the Citizens Policy Center of Cleveland.
Annual local releases involve millions of pounds of pollutants, and Marilyn Wall, spokeswoman for the Sierra Club and the Environmental Community Organization, said "the potential for damaging our health and our environment is indisputable."
However, the statewide study by Laura Yeomans and Patty Wise found that many contaminants were not released into the air or water. Rather, they were shipped to waste disposal firms or municipal sewer plants for treatment, incineration or burial.
That's a difference without a distinction, Ms. Yeomans argued in an interview. "That's still going into the environment. . . . There is still exposure to people."
The study was based on 1996 data that companies provided to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Almost alone, AK Steel of Middletown put Butler County in eighth place for releasing known or suspected carcinogens.
However, slightly more than 1 percent went into the air or water, and 22 percent was disposed of on-site in the soil. The rest went elsewhere for disposal or treatment.
Hamilton County was 12th for cancer-linked emissions. Among the top three polluters -- Morton International, Monsanto and Procter & Gamble -- most pollutants were discharged directly into the air or water.
The remainder overwhelmingly went to disposal firms or the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD).
Three companies pushed Hamilton County into second place in the non-cancer category: Cincinnati Specialties Inc., Hilton Davis Co. and Henkel Corp.
Cincinnati Specialties was the state's second-largest discharger of chemicals suspected of damaging reproduction, development or the hormonal system, Ms. Yeomans said, and its emissions were rising.
Again, the data indicate some pollutants were released into the air but far more went to the MSD.
"The numbers that are reported are within the law," said Rachel Belz, Southwest Ohio coordinator for Citizen Action, parent group of the policy center.
Ohio Citizen Action and its allies are meeting with some major polluters, arguing for changes to reduce wastes.
"We're not looking to shut anybody down," Ms. Belz added, and initial contacts at Cincinnati Specialties went well for "having to build on no trust whatsoever."
There, President Jim McKenna was "encouraged" by Ms. Belz's comments and he shared her disappointment that his methanol recovery unit is not meeting expectations.
