The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced the release of its 2020 Toxics Release Inventory (“TRI”) preliminary dataset.
The preliminary dataset contains data addressing:
- Chemical releases
- Waste management
- Pollution prevention activities
This information addresses activities that were undertaken during 2020 at what are estimated to be 21,000 federal and industrial facilities in the United States.
The TRI is a publically available database. It is prepared and published by EPA annually.
The Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”) was enacted in 1986. The federal statute requires certain facilities to submit reports each year on the amounts of toxic chemicals they release 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 releases of over 650 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 to designated state officials.
EPA notes that the TRI preliminary dataset is available each July through September. Its intent is stated to provide the public access to the most recent TRI information, “prior to finalizing the National Analysis dataset in October.” The National Analysis Report (based on the October dataset) is published in the early part of the subsequent calendar year.
EPA states that the preliminary dataset can be utilized to:
- Identify how many TRI facilities operate in a certain geographic area
- Identify which chemicals are managed by TRI facilities and in what quantities
- Find out if a particular facility initiated any pollution prevention activities in the most recent calendar year
A link to the 2020 TRI preliminary dataset can be found here.
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