Source: Argusleader
Chronic pollution is less of a concern in a rural state such as South Dakota than in other states, but toxins emitted from the state’s expanding ethanol industry are becoming more significant, a federal environmental data shows.For the past five years in South Dakota, ethanol plants have been the leading emitters of carcinogens — toxins thought or known to cause cancer — having surpassed plastics manufacturers. Last year, the state’s ethanol industry accounted for 40 percent of all reported carcinogens, down slightly from 44 percent in 2009, according to an Argus Leader analysis of 11 years of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Release Inventory data.
Read More: Ethanol plants add to pollution
Cartoon by Bob Moran
