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EPA Hosts Workshops for Businesses on Toxic Reporting

Release Date: 5/8/2001
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543

Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543

PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is hosting workshops in Philadelphia for Delaware Valley businesses to learn how to comply with federal chemical and waste reporting requirements, commonly known as the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting.

These one-day workshops will be offered on May 22, 24, 29, 31 or June 5 at EPA’s Region 3 office at 1650 Arch Street. http://www.epcraTo register, call 703-534-1629.

Certain industries are required to submit to the EPA annual reports of their chemical releases into the air and water and their hazardous waste practices. These reports are used to compile the Toxic Release Inventory, a national database available to the public keeping them up-to-date on the environmental practices of plants in their communities. The inventory was established with the passage of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA).

Examples of manufacturers with ten or more employees that may be subject to TRI reporting requirements include metal mining, coal mining, electric generating plants, any commercial facility that treats, stores or disposes of hazardous waste, chemical and petroleum production bulk plants and terminals, and solvent recovery operations.

The workshop will present the requirements and offer hands-on exercises on how to fill out the reporting form, or Form R, along with supporting documentation. The workshop is scheduled to allow enough time to comply before the July 1, 2001 reporting deadline. The workshop will also cover a major change in reporting requirements for very toxic chemicals. That is, beginning in calendar year 2000 for reports due July 1, 2001, the reporting threshold for very toxic chemicals will be reduced from 25,000 or 10,000 pounds to as low as 10 pounds.

Starting in March this year, EPA has hosted workshops in nine cities throughout the mid-Atlantic region to help businesses comply with federal chemical and waste reporting requirements. The Philadelphia workshops conclude this series.