Data show huge drop in chemical releases in New Hampshire

The Environmental Protection Agency says its most recent data show reported chemical releases dropped 91 percent in New Hampshire from 2005 to 2015.Reporting facilities in the state reduced their releases from nearly 5.3 million pounds to under a half-million pounds during the 10-year span, according to data from the federal agency. Among the top chemicals released into the environment in New Hampshire in 2014 were sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, and zinc and barium compounds, the EPA said. The top facilities that reported the largest quantity of environmental releases in the state for 2015 were the Merrimack Station in Bow; the Schiller Station in Portsmouth; and Hutchinson Sealing Systems Inc., in Newfields.