http://www.environmentgeorgia.org/reports/clean-water/clean-water-program-reports/savannah-river-tops-list-in-toxic-dumping

Industrial facilities dumped over 10 million pounds of toxic chemicals into waterways throughout Georgia, according to a report released today by Environment Georgia: Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act. The Savannah River received more toxic pollution than any other river in Georgia and was the fourth most polluted river in the country.

"While over half of the rivers and lakes in Georgia are considered too polluted for safe fishing or swimming, our report shows that polluters continue to use our waterways as dumping grounds for their toxic chemicals-and the Savannah River was one of the hardest hit rivers in the country" said Jennette Gayer, Policy Advocate with Environment Georgia.

The Environment Georgia report documents and analyzes the dangerous levels of pollutants discharged in to America's waters by compiling toxic chemical releases reported to the U.S. EPA's Toxics Release Inventory for 2007, the most recent data available.

Major findings of the report include:

• ü The Savannah River was by far the most toxic pollution discharges, according to the EPA's data. Polluters dumped over seven million lbs. of toxic chemical waste in to the river in 2007, including 38,064 lbs. of chemicals known to cause cancer. The Savannah was the fourth most post polluted river in the country.
• ü In the Savannah area the the International Paper Companies Savannah Complex dumped more than 30,055 lbs. of toxic chemical waste into the Savannah River. The Company was the second largest reported polluter of toxic chemical in Georgia in 2007, behind DSM Chemicals in Augusta which dumped over three million lbs. of toxic chemical waste also in to the Savannah River near August.
• ü Nationally, 232 million lbs. of toxic chemicals were released to American waterways during 2007 by industrial facilities. Georgia ranked seventh in the nation for toxic discharges.

With facilities dumping so much pollution, no one should be surprised that over half of Georgia's waterways are unsafe for swimming and fishing.  But we should be outraged.

Environment Georgia's report summarizes the discharge of cancer-causing chemicals, chemicals that persist in the environment, and chemicals with the potential to cause reproductive problems ranging from birth defects to reduced fertility. Among the toxic chemicals discharged by facilities are lead, mercury, and dioxin. When dumped into waterways, these toxic chemicals contaminate drinking water and are absorbed by the fish that people eventually eat. Exposure to these chemicals is linked to cancer, developmental disorders, and reproductive disorders. In 2007, manufacturing facilities discharged approximately 1.5 million pounds of cancer-causing chemicals into American waters.

"There are common-sense steps that should be taken to turn the tide against toxic pollution of our waters," added Gayer. "We need clean water now, and we need the federal government to act to protect our health and our environment."

In order to curb the toxic pollution threatening the Savannah River Environment Georgia recommends the following:

1. Pollution Prevention:  Industrial facilities should reduce their toxic discharges in to waterways by switching from hazardous chemicals to safer alternatives. 
2. Tough permitting and enforcement:  EPA and state agencies should issue permits with tough, numeric limits for each type of toxic pollution discharged, ratchet down those limits over time, and enforce those limits with credible penalties, not just warning letters.
3. Protect all waters:  The federal government should adopt policies to clarify that the Clean Water Act applies to all of our waterways. This includes the thousands of headwaters and small streams for which jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act has been called into question, as a result of recent court decisions.

"We urge Congress and the President to listen to the public's demands for clean water. They should act to protect all of our lakes, rivers and streams from toxic pollution," concluded Gayer.

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Environment Georgia is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization that works to protect clean air, clean water, and green spaces