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EPA Issues Annual Toxic Release Inventory

Release Date: 6/23/2004
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543 & Joan Schafer, 215-814-5143

Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543 & Joan Schafer, 215-814-5143

PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released today its annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) which provides information on toxic chemicals used and released by power plants and other facilities across the nation based on data submitted to EPA and states.

The 2002 TRI data indicates a total of 400.5 million pounds of chemicals released to the air, water or landfills by facilities in the Mid-Atlantic Region. When compared with the 2001 TRI data of 401.4 million pounds, this represents a slight reduction in toxic pollutants in this region.

“The TRI is a useful resource for citizens and government alike,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA mid-Atlantic regional administrator. “Communities can use this data to begin dialogues with local facilities to encourage them to reduce emissions or develop pollution prevention plans; public interest groups use it to educate the public about toxic chemical emissions and potential risk; and EPA and the states use it to set priorities and allocate environmental protection resources to the most pressing problems.”

The TRI also has been credited with arming communities with valuable knowledge and encouraging facilities to reduce their releases of toxic chemicals into the environment through source reduction, or pollution prevention measures

Today=s data includes information on releases and other wastes from more than 650 chemicals and chemical compounds that companies are required to report under EPA=s Toxic Release Inventory Program. The data includes chemicals that were released at the company=s facility and those transported to disposal facilities off site.

The reporting of data to the TRI is required under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, passed in 1986. The TRI provides the amount, location, and type of release to the environment B whether a pollutant is emitted into the air, discharged into the water, or released onto the land. It also includes information on waste shipped off-site for disposal or further treatment.

It is important to note that these chemical emissions are reported to EPA under the TRI and generally do not reflect illegal discharges of pollutants to the environment.

TRI information is easily accessible online to the news media and the public at www.epa.gov/triexplorer. For more detailed information on a specific facility, go to www.epa.gov/enviro/html/tris/tris_query.html.