Abstract |
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available database containing information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities that are reported annually by manufacturing facilities and facilities in certain other industry sectors, as well as by federal facilities. This inventory was established under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) which was enacted to promote emergency planning, to minimize the effects of chemical accidents, and to provide the public with information on releases of toxic chemicals in their communities. There are now nearly 650 toxic chemicals and chemical compounds on the list of chemicals that must be reported to EPA and the states under the EPCRA/TRI Program. Facilities must report the quantity of each chemical that they release into each media-air, water, and land-each year. In addition, with the passage of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) in 1991, facilities must report other waste management amounts including the quantities of TRI chemicals recycled, combusted for energy recovery, and treated on- and off-site. This other waste management data has strengthened TRI as a tool for providing information on facilities' handling of TRI chemicals, as well as for analyzing progress in reducing releases. |