What is the Toxic Release Inventory Program?
In 1984, a deadly cloud of Methyl Isocyanate killed thousands of people in Bhopal, India. Shortly thereafter, there was a serious chemical release at a sister plant in West Virginia. These incidents underscored demands by industrial workers and communities in several states for information on hazardous materials.
Public interest and environmental organizations around the country accelerated demands for information on toxic chemicals being released, “beyond the fence line”, or outside of the facility.
One of EPCRA's primary purposes is to inform citizens of toxic chemical releases in their areas. EPCRA Section 313 requires EPA and the States to collect data annually on releases and transfers of certain toxic chemicals from industrial facilities and make the data available to the public through the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).
In 1990 Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act which requires facilities to report additional data on waste management and source reduction activities to EPA under TRI. The goal of the Toxics Release Inventory Program is to provide communities with information about toxic chemical releases and waste management activities and to support informed decision making at all levels by industry, government, non-governmental organizations, and the public.
The Toxics Release Inventory Program compiles the TRI data submitted by regulated facilities each year and makes the data available through the TRI Data Files and Tools webpage.
Starting in reporting year 2012, New Mexico is now a member of the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Data Exchange. As a participant of TRI Data Exchange (TDX), New Mexico Facilities that submit to TRI electronically (using TRI-MEweb) will fulfill their requirement to submit to both EPA and the State of New Mexico. Facilities submitting paper copies are required to submit reports on electronic media in addition to the paper copy.