GE has a history of some of its activities giving rise to large-scale air and water pollution. Based on data from 2000,[177] researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute listed the corporation as the fourth-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with more than 4.4 million pounds per year (2,000 tons) of toxic chemicals released into the air.[178] GE has also been implicated in the creation of toxic waste.