Toxic Release Inventory/Community Right-to-Know: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Releases Annual National Report

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has released its Annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis (“Analysis”).

The TRI is a publicly available database prepared and published by EPA annually.

The Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”) was enacted 1986. The federal statute requires certain facilities to submit reports each year on the amount of toxic chemicals they released into the environment, either routinely or as a result of accidents.

Federal legislation in 1990 extended reporting requirements to waste management and source reduction activities. EPA implements these laws and compiles information it receives in the TRI.

The TRI contains information on the release of several hundred chemicals and chemical categories from industries including manufacturing, metal and coal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste treatment (among others). EPCRA requires companies that manufacture, process, or otherwise use specified toxic chemicals in amounts above reporting threshold levels to submit reports to EPA and designated state officials.

A March 21st EPA news release states that the Analysis indicates:

• Toxic chemical releases have declined 21% in ten years.
• Releases in the ten-year period from manufacturing facilities decreased by 9%.
• A 6.5% in the number of pollution prevention activities was reported to have occurred from 2021-2022.
• Facilities reported managing 88.5% of their TRI chemical waste through what are described as Preferred Practices such as recycling, energy recovery, and treatment in 2022.
• 21,000 facilities submitted reports on 522 of the 827 chemicals in categories for which TRI reporting is required.
• Facilities implemented 3,589 total pollution prevention activities in 2022, with the most common including:
  • Process and equipment modifications.
  • Changes to operating practices and training.

A copy of the EPA news release and links to the TRI report can be found here.