EPA invites public insight on a variety of topics related to EPA plans to potentially expand the scope of sectors covered by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program. Learn more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its plans to expand the industry sectors required to report to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program and to require electronic reporting for all TRI data. These steps are part of EPA's ongoing efforts to improve and reinvigorate the TRI program.
For the first time since 1999, the EPA has added chemicals to the list of toxic substances that must be reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI program tracks toxic pollution from thousands of facilities nationwide. The move is an overdue step in the right direction for this crucial right-to-know program and represents a welcome break from the previous administration's attempts to weaken TRI.
The CEC released Taking Stock Online, which contains the latest integrated data set from North America's pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs) with a database of over 500 toxic substances and nearly 100 major industrial sectors. The data reveal gaps in the tracking of industrial pollution, such as the exemption of the oil and gas extraction sector and the public water wastewater treatment sector and deficiencies in pollution reporting from mining.
Researchers at UMass Amherst released The Toxic 100 Air Polluters, which is based on TRI data. The list helps the public to better understand the impact of pollutants on their health. According to the list, the top five air polluters among large corporations are the Bayer Group, ExxonMobil, Sunoco, DuPont, and Arcelor Mittal. Co-Director Michael Ash explains, "We try to act as a bridge between the right to know...and the right to actually have clean air and clean water."
The EPA has proposed adding 16 carcinogens to the list of Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemicals. Public comments on this proposal are due by Monday, June 7, 2010. Comments may be submitted electronically here.
"On June 2nd, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be airing an hour-long investigative story into the environmental health and justice problems plaguing the community of Mossville, Louisiana. Nestled amidst an alarming cluster of chemical plants, Mossville is home to more PVC chemical plants than anywhere else in the entire country, and has been dubbed the Vinyl Manufacturing Capital of America."
The EPA will be conducting a webinar to instruct the public on how to use the pollution information in the agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to support environmental justice efforts. In addition to teaching the basics about TRI, the webinar will feature real life examples of how communities have used TRI to address environmental justice concerns.
EPA is calling for abstracts for presentations at the National Training Conference on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Environmental Conditions in Communities, November 1–4, 2010, in Washington, DC.
According to the Washington Post, the EPA "informed BP officials...that the company has 24 hours to choose a less-toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico...and must apply the new form of dispersants within 72 hours of submitting the list of alternatives." Of course, there's still a lot of information we don't know about these chemicals...
The EPA launched a new "Rulemaking Gateway" to improve the public's ability to search, understand, and comment on the rules being considered by the agency. This new website complements the government-wide www.regulations.gov, which recently was redesigned.
A report released in November 2008 by the NRDC Health Program documents many examples of Bush Administration budget cuts to key data collection programs that monitor hazardous pollutants in our air, water, food, and even our bodies.