Mandatory Disclosure of Plants’ Emissions into the Environment and Workers’ Chemical Exposure Inside Plants
35 Pages Posted: 3 Mar 2012
Date Written: February 14, 2012
Abstract
Our study is the first to test if mandatory pollution disclosure programs, exemplified by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, reduce worker exposure to toxic chemicals. Plants report learning about source reduction activities that can reduce both emissions and worker exposure when they compile inventories of chemical use and production processes. We examine actual worker exposure data, which is the only source of plant-level pollution-related data both before and after the inception of the TRI program. Examining 1,644 health inspections in the chemical manufacturing sector between 1984 and 2009, we find some evidence that worker exposure has declined. However, we are not able to attribute these declines to the TRI program. We do not find statistically significant evidence of greater reductions in worker exposure in plants that are affected by the TRI program to a greater degree, i.e., those plants with, or operating in industries with, greater emissions reductions.
Keywords: right-to-know programs, information-based regulation, pollution disclosure programs, occupational exposure, exposure limits, worker safety
JEL Classification: Q58, Q53, L65, L51, I18
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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