Reply #8: The Top Ten Worst Polluters from the Water Keeper Alliance

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1. AK Steel Corp. (NYSE: AKS), led by James L. Wainscott, has the distinct (dis-)honor of being the single largest reported discharger of toxics to water nationwide. Their Rockport, Indiana operation discharged an astonishing 29,680,083 pounds of toxins to the Ohio River. Though named one of America's Most Admired Companies by Fortune Magazine, how truly admirable can a company can be when they are poisoning our water?


2. BASF Corp. (NYSE: BASF) directed by U.S. CEO Klaus Peter Löbbe. Their Freeport, Texas, chemical plant is the second largest reported discharger of toxins to surface water in the U.S., releasing 15,945,553 pounds of contaminates into the Clute Lake Jackson Drainage Channel and the Brazos River. The German-based chemical company reported discharging toxins to 11 different waterbodies in eight states. Maybe BASF should change their tagline to "We don't make a lot of the products you buy, but we do make a lot of the water you drink polluted."


3. Cargill, Inc. (privately held), headed by Warren R. Staley, and their subsidiaries are a triple threat—high number (11) of facilities discharging toxins, high number (10) of waterbodies polluted, and total pounds (almost 12 million) of toxins discharged. Cargill is a multibillion-dollar industrial agriculture corporation, which translates to big yields and big money for them, but big pollution for all of us.


4. Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW), and their subsidiaries under the guidance of Andrew N. Liveris, discharge a whopping 97 different toxins to 16 different U.S. waterbodies, including a total of 606 pounds of the incredibly dangerous, dioxin. There is no known safe exposure limit to dioxin and it bioaccumulates—working its way up the food chain and passing from mother to child in the womb and through breast milk. So much for "Living. Improved daily."


5. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., Inc. (NYSE: DD), with Charles O. Holliday, Jr. at the helm, continues to discharge PCBs to the Delaware River, even though this highly toxic substance is banned. In addition, Du Pont, in conjunction with the U.S. Army, is planning to discharge VXH, a form of caustic nerve gas, into the Delaware River. It will take one of Du Pont's "miracles of science" to undo the damage that it has done to American waterways.


6. ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is the company that brought us the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska. Under the direction of CEO Lee R. Raymond this dinosaur continues to poison our waterbodies with mercury, a neurotoxin, and MTBE, a potential human carcinogen. This petroleum powerhouse weighs in with 25 facilities releasing 47 different kinds of toxins into 25 different U.S. waterbodies.


7. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), controlled by CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt, is notorious for their legacy of PCB contamination of the upper Hudson River. They've spent millions on a campaign to avoid cleaning up this mess. They lead the pack with the largest number of facilities discharging toxins to surface water. Despite being named one of Working Mother's "Best Companies to Work For," we think most working parents wouldn't want their kids playing in GE's toxic playground—the 37 waterbodies they have polluted and should take responsibility for cleaning up.


8. Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) and CEO Hugh Grant continue their horrifying tradition as the manufacturer of Agent Orange and now banned PCBs, producing herbicides and pesticides that contaminate water all over the U.S. and the world. Not only are their products dangerous, they take top dishonors for discharging the largest variety of toxins (97) to our waterways. While Monsanto has undergone considerable corporate restructuring, they haven't stopped "imAgining" new ways to poison our water and our communities.


9. Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), led by CEO John Tyson, is an industrial agriculture giant. Tyson's 23 facilities discharge toxins to 24 different waterbodies. The largest chicken producer in the U.S. and largest supplier of beef likes to keep it big—including the 18,424,001 pounds of toxins they discharged to U.S. waters in 2002. Even though Tyson thinks it's "what your family deserves," we actually think your family deserves better.


10. U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), directed by John P. Surma, Jr., dischages more than 20 heavy metals and other toxins to nine waterbodies in Alabama, California, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Their Gary, Indiana, steel works alone pumps out 2,970,499 pounds of arsenic, chromium, cyanide, lead, mercury and 18 other toxins into Lake Michigan and three other surrounding waterbodies. Their long history as the largest steel producer in the United States would be more impressive if they weren't among the largest toxic dischargers as well.

FEATURES I Part 1: America's Worst Corporate Polluters