E.P.A. Analysis Shows Reduction in 2009 Toxic Chemical Delivers / Agency completes analysis on chemical disposal and release

WASHINGTON - The E.P.A. (EPA) is releasing its yearly national analysis of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), providing all Americans vital information about their communities. The TRI plan publishes information on toxic chemical disposals and delivers into the air, land and water, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities in neighborhoods across the country. In 2009, 3.37 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the environment, a twelve percent decrease from 2008. TRI was recently acknowledged by the Aspen Institute as one of the ten major ways that E.P.A. has strengthened America.

"The Toxics Release Inventory is an important way to inform American communities about their local environmental conditions. It plays a critical role in EPA's efforts to hold polluters accountable and to acknowledge good corporate neighbors who put pollution prevention efforts in place," said E.P.A. Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "We will continue to make every effort to put accessible, meaningful information in the hands of the American people. Widespread public access to environmental information is fundamental to the work E.P.A. does every day."

This year, E.P.A. is offering additional information to make the TRI data more meaningful and accessible to all communities. The TRI analysis now highlights toxic disposals and delivers to large aquatic ecosystems, selected urban communities, and tribal lands. In addition, portions of the analysis are accessible in Spanish for the 1st time.

The analysis, which includes data on approximately 650 chemicals from in excess of 20,000 facilities, found that total delivers to air decreased 20 percent since 2008, while delivers to surface water decreased 18 percent. Delivers to land decreased four percent since 2008.

The analysis shows decreases in the Delivers of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals including lead, dioxin, and mercury. Total disposal or other Delivers of mercury decreased three percent since 2008, while total disposal or other Delivers of both dioxin and lead decreased by 18 percent. The analysis also shows a seven percent decrease in the number of facilities reporting to TRI from the previous year, continuing a trend from the past few years. Some of this decline may be attributed to the economic downturn; however, E.P.A. projects to investigate why some facilities reported in 2008 but not 2009.

E.P.A. added 16 chemicals to the TRI list of reportable chemicals in November. These chemicals are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens, and represent the biggest chemical expansion of the plan in a decade. Data on the new TRI chemicals will be reported by facilities on July 1, 2012.

Facilities must report their chemical disposals and Delivers by July one of each year. This year, E.P.A. made the 2009 preliminary TRI dataset accessible in July, the same month as the data were collected. This is the earliest release of TRI data to the public ever.

TRI was established in 1986 by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and later modified by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Together, these laws require facilities in certain industries to report annually on releases, disposal and other waste management activities related to these chemicals. TRI data are submitted annually to E.P.A. and states by multiple industry sectors including manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste facilities.

More information on the 2009 TRI analysis: http://www.epa.gov/tri

There are currently no comments for this story. Be the first to add a comment!
Click here to add a comment about this story.