BALTIMORE (AP) — A new report says industrial facilities dumped 1.4 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Maryland waterways in 2010, mostly in the Baltimore area.
The report was released Thursday by Environment Maryland, which said it obtained the figures from Environmental Protection Agency reports.
The report says 98 percent of the releases were in the Baltimore area, particularly Curtis Creek on the Baltimore-Anne Arundel County border.
The chemicals include arsenic, mercury and benzene, which the environmental group says have been linked to cancer and developmental and reproductive disorders. The report calls on industrial facilities to switch to safer alternatives and for tougher permitting and enforcement by federal and state environmental regulators.
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