EPA Releases Preliminary Data for 2022 Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Year
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published preliminary Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data about chemical waste management, including releases, and pollution prevention activities that occurred during 2022 at more than 20,000 industrial and federal facilities across the country.
“The information released today is one way EPA helps inform Americans about toxic chemical releases in their communities, including those that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “For the first time, these preliminary data include reporting from natural gas processing facilities and from 24 contract sterilization facilities that were required to report their ethylene oxide releases beginning this year.”
General Information on the 2022 Preliminary Data
The 2022 preliminary data were reported by facilities in covered industries that manufactured, processed or otherwise used substances on the TRI chemical list above certain threshold quantities during 2022. The preliminary data include quantities of these chemicals that facilities released into the environment or otherwise managed as waste and also include details about pollution prevention activities initiated by individual facilities during 2022.
The public can use the preliminary data to identify facilities that reported to TRI (for example, to locate facilities in a certain ZIP code locality) and learn which chemicals those facilities manage as waste and in what quantities.
The dataset released today contains the data as submitted by facilities and does not include any summary or trend analysis. While the preliminary data have not yet been through the complete TRI data quality process, the reporting software that facilities used to submit these data (TRI-MEweb) includes many automated quality checks that help prevent common mistakes during data entry. EPA is conducting additional quality checks to identify suspected reporting errors and follow up with facilities if data quality issues are identified. For details about the TRI data quality process, see the TRI Data Quality webpage.
The 2022 preliminary data will be updated periodically to reflect revisions to previously submitted data and late submissions. EPA plans to publish a revised version of the dataset in October 2023, which will include late submissions and revisions submitted by facilities. EPA will then use the revised dataset to develop the 2022 TRI National Analysis which the Agency expects to publish in early 2024.
You can explore the preliminary data by going to EPA’s Envirofacts website and searching for a specific location, industry sector or facility. You can also download the data files for your own use.
Access the 2022 TRI preliminary data.
New Information from Natural Gas Processing and Contract Sterilization Facilities from the 2022 Preliminary Data
This is the first year that TRI data include reporting from natural gas processing facilities. In November 2021, EPA added natural gas processing facilities to the scope of the industrial sectors covered by the TRI. The rule expands coverage to include all natural gas processing facilities that receive and refine natural gas. Natural gas processing facilities that primarily recover sulfur from natural gas were already covered by TRI. For 2022, EPA has received 1,152 TRI reporting forms from 230 natural gas processing facilities.
This is also the first year that TRI data include reporting of ethylene oxide (EtO), a chemical that has been on the TRI chemical list since 1986, from certain contract sterilization facilities that previously had not been subject to TRI reporting requirements. These facilities release EtO or otherwise manage the chemical as waste. In December 2021, EPA issued a decision extending TRI reporting requirements to 29 sterilization facilities that were likely to exceed the 10,000 pounds per year “otherwise used” TRI reporting threshold for ethylene oxide.
As of July 12, 2023, EPA has received TRI reporting forms for EtO from 24 of the 29 contract sterilization facilities. EPA is following-up with the five contract sterilization facilities that did not submit TRI forms for EtO. The 24 contract sterilization facilities reported managing over 6 million pounds of production-related waste of EtO of which 8,863 pounds were released on-site to air during 2022.
PFAS-Related Information from the 2022 Preliminary Data
This is the third year that TRI data include reporting on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to the TRI list of chemicals under requirements established by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). EPA has received 120 TRI reporting forms for 46 discrete PFAS from 44 facilities. The preliminary data indicate facilities managed over 1,151,000 pounds of production-related waste of PFAS during 2022. EPA anticipates additional reporting on the quantities of PFAS released or otherwise managed as waste to begin to be made after the rule to remove applicability of the de minimis exemption for PFAS – which allows reporting on PFAS to be avoided – is finalized later this year.
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-preliminary-data-2022-toxics-release-inventory-reporting-year
