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The dumping of hazardous substances poses a significant threat to the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data show that over 18 million tons of hazardous substances covered by TRI were disposed of or released into the environment from 1998 through 2004.1 Hazardous substances are a serious safety and health problem that continues to endanger human and animal life and environmental quality.
Discarded hazardous substances that are toxic, flammable, or corrosive can cause fires, explosions, and pollution of air, water, and land. Unless hazardous substances are properly treated, stored, or disposed of, they will continue to do great harm to living things that contact them, now and in the future.
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