The Right-to-Know Network (RTK NET) published the 2005 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data on March 23, providing public access to important U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data on the release and transfer of toxic chemicals in the United States. This is EPA's earliest release of the annual TRI data in the history of the program.

Individual facilities report TRI data by sending reports to EPA every year. RTK NET allows the public to search the data, enabling users to learn about the toxic chemicals in their local communities, states, regions, and the entire nation. Users can search by location, individual facility, parent company, industry type, and offsite waste transfer data tailored to fit their specific requirements. Updates over this past year include more comprehensive search results and additional cross-referencing options that allow for simultaneous sewage plant and offsite transfer searches. RTK NET is also using a new indexing protocol, called sitemaps, which will allow key results to be found via popular Internet search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.

For 2005, over 23,000 facilities reported 4.34 billion pounds of releases and disposal of toxic chemicals, covering approximately 650 chemicals and chemical categories. This is an increase of three percent (117 million pounds) from 2004, driven by increases in releases from the metal mining, electric utilities and primary metals industry sectors. The longer term trend for TRI continues to demonstrate significant reductions, with 2005 totals down 22 percent (1.23 billion pounds) from the releases in 2001. The 2005 data show a troubling nine percent increase (72 million pounds) in the release of carcinogens, including a 54 percent increase (65 million pounds) in the release of arsenic. The new TRI data also indicated a five percent (25 million pounds) increase in releases of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs), which occurred because releases of lead rose by six percent (26 million pounds) from 2004, while releases of other PBTs, such as mercury, dioxin, and PCBs, decreased modestly.

Unfortunately, in December 2006, EPA changed the TRI rules to drastically reduce the amount of data collected on toxic pollution throughout the country, severely diminishing the usefulness of the TRI program for users. Amid huge opposition, the agency raised the threshold for detailed reporting for most of the 650 TRI chemicals, from 500 pounds to 5,000 pounds, up to 2,000 pounds of which can be released directly to the environment. The reporting changes will also allow facilities to withhold details on low-level waste generation of persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs) such as mercury and lead.

"We are pleased that EPA got the data out faster this year, but their efforts to chip away the amount of toxic pollution tracked in TRI raises doubts about the usefulness of the program to individuals and communities," said Sean Moulton, Director of Federal Information Policy at OMB Watch. "EPA has insisted on viewing TRI as a tool for national totals and trends, which means the details that are disclosed at the local level that are so important to health and safety may be abandoned."

OMB Watch urges RTK NET users to weigh in so we can continue to provide useful environmental information on chemical releases. See http://www.crtk.org/subscribe.cfm to sign up for updates. Citizens concerned about the TRI rollbacks can contact Congress by visiting http://ga6.org/campaign/TRI.

OMB Watch created RTK NET in 1989 in support of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), which mandated public access to TRI information.