Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program

Providing Pollution Prevention and Toxic Chemical Release Information

Factors to Consider When Using TRI

For more than a decade, EPA has provided Factors to Consider When Using TRI, a guide to understanding and using the important information found in the Toxics Release Inventory.

This year, EPA has revised and shortened the document to concisely explain the limitations of TRI data. The guide provides:

• an overview of what the TRI is and is not;
• a new graphic summarizing factors that influence potential risk from exposure to TRI chemicals; and
• a simplified discussion of factors to consider when reviewing TRI facility-specific data, analyzing TRI waste management trends over time, and using TRI to evaluate health impacts.

EPA has removed the more technical content (e.g., term definitions, references to the reporting form, discussion of calculations, etc.) from this revised version and is developing a new technical guide that will include these details. In the meantime, the previous version of Factors to Consider will still be available on the TRI website.

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