Updated Data for 2021

The EPA has published updated 2021 TRI data about chemical waste management and pollution prevention activities that took place between January 1 and December 31, 2021, at more than 20,000 federal and industrial facilities throughout the U.S. and its territories.  

General Information

The updated 2021 data build on the preliminary data released in July 2022. The data include revised and late submissions from facilities and reflects additional data quality checks by EPA.  

These data were reported by facilities in certain industry sectors--including federal facilities--that manufactured, processed, or otherwise used the TRI-listed chemicals above certain quantities during 2021. The data include quantities of such chemicals that were released into the environment or otherwise managed as waste, as well as the pollution prevention activities initiated by facilities during 2021.  

EPA's full analysis of the 2021 data will be published early next year in the 2021 TRI National Analysis and will examine trends in releases, waste management reporting by parent companies, how facilities are working to reduce pollution, and other aspects of the data.

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PFAS-Related Information from the 2021 Data

This is the second year that TRI data include reporting on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to the TRI by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). EPA has received 89 PFAS reporting forms on 44 discrete PFAS from 44 facilities. The data indicate facilities managed over 1,306,481 pounds of production-related waste of PFAS during 2021. By comparison, facilities reported managing more than 841,000 pounds of production-related PFAS waste in 2020.  

Following the release of the 2020 TRI preliminary data, EPA reviewed the PFAS data submitted and contacted facilities that had filed CDR reports for the TRI-listed PFAS but had not submitted TRI reporting forms for the same PFAS. All facilities contacted claimed that concentrations of PFAS were below the TRI 1% de minimis level currently in place for PFAS as their reason for not submitting TRI reporting forms for the PFAS. The de minimis exemption allows facilities that report to TRI to disregard certain minimal concentrations of chemicals in mixtures or trade name products. 

As part of the PFAS Strategic Roadmap, EPA will soon propose a rulemaking that would, among other changes, remove the eligibility of the TRI de minimis exemption for PFAS. If finalized, this proposal would also make unavailable the de minimis exemption with regard to providing supplier notifications to downstream facilities for PFAS and certain other TRI-listed chemicals. 

Because PFAS are used at low concentrations in many products, the elimination of the de minimis exemption would result in a more complete picture of the releases and other waste management quantities for these chemicals.