In March, U.S. PIRG released what could be one of the last complete pictures of toxic pollution in communities across the country if a recent attack on the public’s right to know by the Bush administration’s Environmental Protection Agency is allowed to stand.

According to the report “Toxic Pollution and Health,” industrial facilities released 1.5 billion pounds of pollutants linked to serious health effects in 2004, threatening hundreds of communities across the country.

U.S. PIRG researchers analyzed data from the federal Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and found that facilities released more than 70 million pounds of known carcinogens and 826 million pounds of neurotoxins to the air and water.

“Unfortunately, EPA’s attack on the public’s right to know means that many communities will be left in the dark about these dangers,” said U.S. PIRG Staff Attorney Alex Fidis.

TRI requires industrial facilities to disclose their toxic releases, and has helped to reduce toxic pollution by 57 percent nationwide since 1988. Reps. Frank Pallone (N.J.) and Hilda Solis (Calif.), and Sens. Frank Lautenberg (N.J) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.), recently introduced legislation to restore the lost data and to ensure that communities have the information they deserve.