Ways to Get RSEI Results

The Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model produces several different sets of results, and distributes them in different ways. This page provides links and details for some of the basic ways to get RSEI results, including EasyRSEI, the RSEI results map, and Envirofacts.

On this page:

• What's new in the latest version of RSEI: Version 2.3.12 (RY 2022) 
• EasyRSEI
• RSEI Geographic Microdata
• Other ways to access RSEI results
• Other RSEI results products to download

What's new in the latest version of RSEI: Version 2.3.12 (RY 2022)

Each new version of RSEI incorporates the latest Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data, as well as changes to the input data and the methodology used to process the data and present the results. The following changes were made in Version 2.3.12, released in March 2024:

• Includes TRI reporting years 1988-2022.
• Toxicity weights have been updated with the most recent toxicity data.
• Stack parameters have been improved. Data from the 2020 NEI are used along with the 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017 NEI. 
• Census data from the 2020 U.S. decennial census are now used to create population estimates at the RSEI grid-cell level, in addition to decennial census data from 1990, 2000, and 2010.

EasyRSEI

EasyRSEI is an easy-to-use web dashboard that you can access through your internet browser with no downloading required. EasyRSEI contains Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model results for Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting years 2013-2022. A separate all-years EasyRSEI dashboard is available for users interested in all years of data (going back to 1988).

Learn more about EasyRSEI

RSEI Geographic Microdata

RSEI Geographic Microdata for air releases include chemical concentrations, toxicity-weighted concentrations, and RSEI Scores for each 810 meter by 810 meter grid cell in the United States and its territories. The disaggregated Geographic Microdata are very large in size, and contain multiple records for each impacted grid cell. The aggregated Geographic Microdata are a smaller size dataset, and summarize results over all chemical releases for each impacted grid cell. Additional data sets at various geographies and years are also produced. Different RSEI model versions and their contained results should not be combined or analyzed together since RSEI model results are recomputed every model year update. Users should select the most recent RSEI model version available that contains the desired data years and geographies needed for their analysis.

RSEI Version 2.3.12 (RY 2022) (1988-2022, by year)

• An extended Microdata dataset has been produced for RSEI Version 2.3.12, including all data years (1988-2022) at the grid cell, Census block group, Census tract, and ZIP code levels, aggregated and disaggregated, and shapefiles. A single year (2022) of aggregated grid cell data for individual states is also available. Use the Contact Us form to request data.
• Three years of Geographic Microdata for aggregated and disaggregated grid cell-level results (2020-2022) can also be retrieved and downloaded on EPA's RSEI file transfer protocol (FTP) site which can be accessed here.
• Users should note that file structures and field names have changed for RSEI version 2.3.12, as explained in the updated RSEI Geographic Microdata documentation for RSEI Version 2.3.12.

RSEI Version 2.3.11 (RY 2021) (2019-2021, by year)

• An abridged set of Geographic Microdata was produced for RSEI Version 2.3.11, including three years (2019-2021) at the grid cell, Census block group, Census tract, and ZIP code levels, aggregated and disaggregated, and shapefiles.  A single year (2021) of aggregated grid cell data for individual states is also available. Use the Contact Us form to request data.
• Three years of Geographic Microdata for aggregated and disaggregated grid cell-level results (2019-2021) can also be retrieved and downloaded on EPA's RSEI FTP site which can be accessed here. 

Microdata users are advised to first carefully read the RSEI Geographic Microdata documentation. Data files from different RSEI model versions cannot be combined.

Use the Contact Us form if you have additional questions regarding the RSEI Geographic Microdata.

Other ways to access RSEI results

Envirofacts. Facility-specific RSEI reports are available as part of TRI Search of Envirofacts. Once you have done a TRI Search query, on the search results page, click on the “Risk Report” link under the “Risk Screening” column for that facility. You can enter any place name or ZIP code in the box below to perform a TRI search.

TRI Toxics Tracker. Search for TRI facilities near an address or location or by facility name and see summary-level TRI data. Beyond TRI data, summaries include RSEI modeling results, facility compliance and enforcement information, and surrounding community demographic information.

EJScreen. EJScreen is an EPA's environmental justice mapping and screening tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for combining environmental and demographic socioeconomic indicators. EJScreen users choose a geographic area; the tool then provides demographic socioeconomic and environmental information for that area. RSEI results are used in two of the environmental indicators included in EJScreen:

• Toxic Releases to Air Indicator uses RSEI air results at the census block group level, and
• Wastewater Discharge Indicator includes a combined dataset of discharges to water reported to TRI and discharge monitoring and permit data from EPA's Integrated Compliance Information System - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (ICIS-NPDES). The discharge data is modeled using RSEI parameter data and water modeling approach.

CalEnviroScreen.  CalEnviroScreen is a mapping tool that helps identify California communities that are most affected by many sources of pollution, and where people are often especially vulnerable to pollution’s effects. CalEPA has used the tool to designate California communities as disadvantaged pursuant to Senate Bill 535.

Toxic100.  An index that uses RSEI Scores aggregated to the parent company level to identify the top U.S. air polluters among the world's largest corporations.

Studies Using RSEI. RSEI data is often used in academic studies and publications, particularly for environmental justice analyses. The RSEI bibliography contains a searchable list of studies and books that include RSEI data.

Other RSEI results products to download

RSEI Queries. A small Microsoft Access database containing sample queries that allow users to extract data directly from the RSEI tables, which are distributed from a separate MySQL relational database. Users must have Microsoft Access 2007 or later, at least 2 gigabyte (GB) random access memory and at least 4 GB of hard drive space. RSEI Queries is for users already familiar with RSEI and Microsoft Access, who have specific data needs that are not easily met with EasyRSEI, and who know generally which datasets they want for analytical purposes.  RSEI Queries Version 2.3.12 contains TRI data from 1988 through 2022, as frozen in the fall of 2023 for EPA's TRI National Analysis dataset.  RSEI Queries is available on the RSEI ftp site.

RSEI CSV files. This is the same data as in RSEI Queries, but the format is a series of comma-separated values (CSV) files. The RSEI data dictionary describes each table and field for the current version (RSEI Version 2.3.12), and contains links to download each table in CSV and Microsoft Excel formats. RSEI CSV files for the current version are also made available in the Public Release Data on the RSEI ftp site. Data files for earlier versions can be found here.

RSEI crosswalks and shapefiles. RSEI crosswalks allow you to transpose data from the RSEI grid-based system to Census blocks, and shapefiles provide grid geometry for mapping RSEI Geographic Microdata. Both sets of files are available on the RSEI ftp site. 

U.S. Census block-level data translated onto the RSEI grid. More information on how the U.S. Census files are created is contained in the RSEI methodology document. These files are posted in the RSEI data dictionary, along with the field names and descriptions.