16
Toxic Chemicals
activities related to these chemicals. This report is filed with a specified format.
Reports must be filed with both the EPA and the applicable state agency. Most states
allow reporters to submit both reports at once through programs provided on the
EPA Web site.
A facility must report to TRI if it
• Operates within any of the following industry sectors:
• Manufacturing (Standard Industrial Classification [SIC] codes 20–39)
• Metal mining (SIC code 10, except 1011, 1081, and 1094)
• Coal mining (SIC code 12, except 1241)
• Electrical utilities that combust coal or oil for the purpose of generating
power for distribution in commerce (SIC codes 4911, 4931, and 4939)
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities (in SIC code 4953)
• Chemical wholesalers (SIC code 5169)
• Petroleum terminals and bulk stations (SIC code 5171)
• Solvent recovery services (SIC code 7389)
• A federal facility in any SIC code
• Employs 10 or more full-time-equivalent employees and
• Manufactures or processes more than 25,000 lb or otherwise uses more
than 10,000 lb of any listed chemical during the calendar year, except for
chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) for which
the thresholds are 0.1 g for dioxin and dioxin-like compounds and 10 or
100 lb for other PBT chemicals
The Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990 mandated collection of data on toxic
chemicals that are treated on site, recycled, and combusted for energy recovery.
Together, these laws require facilities in certain industries, which manufacture, process, or use toxic chemicals above specified amounts, to report annually on disposal
or other releases and other waste management activities related to these chemicals.
Each year, the EPA makes TRI data available to the public on two Internet sites: TRI
Explorer (http://www.epa.gov/triexplore) and Envirofacts (http://www.epa.gov/enviro).
For the year 2007, some 21,996 facilities reported releasing some 4.1 billion
pounds of chemicals under the TRI program. Figure 3.1 shows how these releases
were reported by industrial category. The largest releases were by industrial categories that were not included in the original TRI program.
The list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under section 313 of EPCRA is not
static. The original list consisted of 306 chemicals. Over the years, some chemicals,
such as sodium sulfate and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), have been removed, but others
have been added. The current TRI toxic chemical list contains 581 individually listed
chemicals and 30 chemical categories, including 3 delimited categories containing
58 chemicals. The total number of chemicals and chemical categories is 666.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Information reported annually by facilities includes
Toxic Chemicals
activities related to these chemicals. This report is filed with a specified format.
Reports must be filed with both the EPA and the applicable state agency. Most states
allow reporters to submit both reports at once through programs provided on the
EPA Web site.
A facility must report to TRI if it
• Operates within any of the following industry sectors:
• Manufacturing (Standard Industrial Classification [SIC] codes 20–39)
• Metal mining (SIC code 10, except 1011, 1081, and 1094)
• Coal mining (SIC code 12, except 1241)
• Electrical utilities that combust coal or oil for the purpose of generating
power for distribution in commerce (SIC codes 4911, 4931, and 4939)
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities (in SIC code 4953)
• Chemical wholesalers (SIC code 5169)
• Petroleum terminals and bulk stations (SIC code 5171)
• Solvent recovery services (SIC code 7389)
• A federal facility in any SIC code
• Employs 10 or more full-time-equivalent employees and
• Manufactures or processes more than 25,000 lb or otherwise uses more
than 10,000 lb of any listed chemical during the calendar year, except for
chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) for which
the thresholds are 0.1 g for dioxin and dioxin-like compounds and 10 or
100 lb for other PBT chemicals
The Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990 mandated collection of data on toxic
chemicals that are treated on site, recycled, and combusted for energy recovery.
Together, these laws require facilities in certain industries, which manufacture, process, or use toxic chemicals above specified amounts, to report annually on disposal
or other releases and other waste management activities related to these chemicals.
Each year, the EPA makes TRI data available to the public on two Internet sites: TRI
Explorer (http://www.epa.gov/triexplore) and Envirofacts (http://www.epa.gov/enviro).
For the year 2007, some 21,996 facilities reported releasing some 4.1 billion
pounds of chemicals under the TRI program. Figure 3.1 shows how these releases
were reported by industrial category. The largest releases were by industrial categories that were not included in the original TRI program.
The list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under section 313 of EPCRA is not
static. The original list consisted of 306 chemicals. Over the years, some chemicals,
such as sodium sulfate and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), have been removed, but others
have been added. The current TRI toxic chemical list contains 581 individually listed
chemicals and 30 chemical categories, including 3 delimited categories containing
58 chemicals. The total number of chemicals and chemical categories is 666.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Information reported annually by facilities includes