Most people agree that citizens have the right to know the identity and amounts of chemicals being released into workplaces, air, water and soil in their community. However, that information is not that easily obtained. Even President Clinton, in his nomination acceptance speech acknowledged this need.

The Toxic Right to Know measure on the Eugene ballot aims to correct this problem locally. The proposed charter amendment would require industries producing more than 2,640 pounds of chemical waste a year and employing 10 or more workers to make an annual report listing inputs and outputs of all hazardous substances manufactured, obtained, used, transported and stored. This information would then be readily accessible to the public at the Eugene Library.

The federal Toxics Release Inventory requires industry to report on only 330 out of some 70,000 toxic chemicals emissions, and the limits are not based on toxicity but on what industry thinks it can limit. The Toxic-Right-to-Know measure lists about 1000 substances defined as toxic or hazardous on several different federal agencies lists. Inclusion of the definition of the properties of hazardous materials would add an undetermined number of substances. Additions to any of these lists will automatically be incorporated.

The measure thus obviously does not cover all toxics being used in the community, and so only affects 35-40 of the largest users. These firms will be required to provide a "materials balance" sheet tracking the substances in and out to determine where they end up -- in the product, hauled away stored, or released into the environment.

The measure also authorizes a Toxics Board to be appointed to enforce and implement the act. There will be no expense to the public and only a small expense to businesses covered by the measure to pay the City of Eugene, the Fire Marshall's office, which will collect the information, and the Eugene Public Library.

Opponents of the measure claim that it is redundant and burdensome and that the information is already available to the public. Steve Johnson, chair of the Toxic-Right-to-Know campaign responds, that this simply is not true: there is only about a 10% overlap in what is currently reported and what the measure calls for, and to obtain the information that is available, citizens would have to contact several agencies and, in some cases, be required to pay fees for the information.

Hazardous chemicals put the community at risk and citizens have the right and need to know how to meet this risk with full knowledge of what is involved. The Toxic-Right-to-Know measure will provide that information.