WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, has analyzed the environmental performance of major U.S. manufacturing and service sectors, including paint and coatings, in its Second Edition of the Sector Strategies Performance Report, published this year.

The 2006 report uses toxicity-weighted data to supplement basic information on trends in air and water emissions. The toxicity-weighted data provide insights about the greatest opportunities for each sector to make progress in reducing the toxicity of its releases.

The report is a valuable tool not only for evaluating the good progress the paint and coatings industry has made in reducing emissions, but also for providing a footprint of the industry, including statistics, trends and environmental opportunities. You can download the paint and coatings chapter or the full report by going to www.epa.gov/ sectors/performance.html.