Continuing a 15-year downward trend, Delaware’s yearly Toxics Release Inventory report and data shows a significant drop in 2013 air, water and land emissions from 61 different manufacturing and refining facilities.
Water pollutants constitute about three-quarters of the nearly 4 million pounds of on-site releases, down 22 percent or 1.1 million pounds from 2012's total.
One million pounds were released into the air, down 10 percent, and land releases were cut in half to almost 150,000 pounds, according to the data compiled by DNREC.
Department Secretary David Small says most pollutants are regulated by a facility's DNREC-issued operating permit, but adds the report opens up new avenues to reducing pollution.
"It really helps inform both facilities and the department to say 'Okay, we've seen these changes, how do you explain those? Are there additional rooms for improvement?' Or if we've seen increases - conversely - we have the opportunity.”
All facilities submitted reports for 89 different toxic chemicals and Small calls the last few years of declining numbers reassuring.
"Some of our facilities continue to grow, they expand their production capacity. So to be able to see these kinds of reductions in the face of, albeit modest, increases in production is very encouraging."
One of Delaware's biggest emitters of toxic chemicals, the Delaware City Refinery also made some large reductions. The refinery’s nitrate compound releases, by far the state’s largest toxic release into water, were down by 700,000 pounds.
Small said that was part of the agreement to reduce emissions the refinery's new owners made with DNREC when they took over operation of the plant.
"They continue to achieve those reductions. They've done a nice job as far as their wastewater operations go. They're also reducing their use of water that they take in from the Delaware River so they have shown progress in all three areas."
The Perdue chicken processing plant in Georgetown also contributed to the drop by reducing nitrate emissions by 200,000 pounds.
The report also shows a 12 percent reduction in off site waste transfers and a 0.3 percent increase in waste managed on site.