The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implied that the public had already received most of the benefits the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) could offer when the agency recently proposed significantly cutting the amount of information companies report under the program. This is not, however, reflected in the facts, which show the TRI continues to be an important public health tool widely used by community groups, labor unions, local officials and citizens.

The following examples demonstrate the ongoing importance and usefulness of the annual data on toxic pollution collected under the TRI. Approximately 26,000 industrial facilities in neighborhoods across our country annually report under the program the amounts of some 650 chemicals that they release or dispose of. The program which has been in place since 1988 has been tremendously successful in achieving reductions in toxic pollution by simply making the information public.

However, on Sept. 21, EPA officially proposed allowing thousands of companies to pollute more before requiring they report the details of that pollution. The agency also plans to cut the TRI program in half by letting facilities report every other year. The changes will make it difficult for communities to track local polluters and demand reductions.

EPA claims that TRI reductions have 'leveled off,' and implies that companies have already learned the importance of reducing toxic pollution. One EPA official claimed that the major reductions under TRI occurred years ago. However, each of the examples to follow illustrate how the TRI continues to play a vital role in protecting public health.

• Louisville, Kentucky -- On June 21, Louisville city officials approved a new program that requires industrial facilities to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants. The TRI was critical in passing the new clean-air program. As Tim Duncan of the Rubbertown Emergency Action Community Taskforce (REACT)explains, "the combination of the TRI numbers and local air monitor data provided a powerful combination of numbers for us to use to show that Hazardous Air Pollution levels were serious in our area."


• Phoenix, Arizona -- The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) also uses the TRI to address Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) emissions. The ADEQ used TRI data to identify facilities that had significantly increased their HAP releases from 2002 to 2003. The agency can then work with those facilities to better manage their air emissions. Alternate-year reporting would have missed these pollution increases.


• Green Bay, Wisconsin -- The Clean Water Action Council of North East Wisconsin recently told OMB Watch, "we use the TRI frequently to call attention to toxic releases, as the counties we work with are home to some of the state's top toxic sources and highest cancer rates. (The) TRI helps us understand the relative importance of various pollution sources, focus our public education efforts where they can make the most difference, and is the only comprehensive dataset of its kind, providing valuable insights which the public would otherwise be unaware of."


• Peoria, Illinois -- The Sierra Club Heart of Illinois Chapter uses TRI data in its efforts to get the Peoria County Board to close a hazardous waste landfill, owned by the private company located at the edge of town. The TRI data has revealed that the landfill -- less than three miles from 20,000 Peoria residents -- contains dangerously high levels of chromium and cadmium, and emits large amounts of air-born pollution. The landfill company has applied for a permit that would extend the landfill's life by 15 years.


• Dorchester, Massachusetts -- The JSI Center for Environmental Health Studies, based in Boston, conducted a project called, 'Informed Communities: Environmental Health Initiative.' With support from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, they piloted training programs on using the TRI in Dorchester, which compelled health centers and community groups to use the TRI to address local environmental health concerns. The project was such a success that it is being disseminated to other New England communities.


• Modesto, California -- Haleh Niazmand, a recent transplant to Modesto, found out from TRI data that she and her family until recently lived between a quarter mile and four miles from several industrial facilities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that released neurotoxins, including mercury into the air and water. Niazmand, whose three-year-old child has regressive autism, tells OMB Watch, "the TRI made it plain that these facilities were releasing poisons into the air. This information will help me make informed decision regarding my son's detox regime."


• Seattle, Washington -- The Washington Toxics Coalition used TRI data to track millions of pounds of toxic waste being turned into fertilizer and sent to farms. The coalition told OMB Watch that "in 1997, we found out the practice was occurring and then looked to TRI data to find that steel mills were sending millions of pounds of lead to be turned into fertilizer. Shedding light on this and taking regulatory action has basically put an end to the practice of bagging steel mill waste for fertilizer."


• Albion, New York -- Diane Heminway with the United Steelworkers Association (USWA) conducts trainings using the TRI to better inform workers of the health risks associated with the chemicals to which they are exposed. According to Heminway, the trainings teach workers to spot reporting violations or inconsistencies, and companies with formal employee participation programs are up to three times more successful at reducing pollution.


• Chicago, Illinois -- TRI data informed concerned residents of Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood that the nearby brass foundry was the city's largest emitter of airborne lead. In 2004, the residents formed the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization and pushed for air testing, which found highly elevated levels of lead in the area. As a result the group was able to secure agreements from the company to reduce emissions.


• Homer, Alaska -- The Cook Inlet Keeper, a citizens' group that works to protect Alaska's Cook Inlet, uses the TRI to generate media coverage highlighting the pollution being released by industries into the inlet. The group uses the news coverage to make companies aware that their toxic pollution is being watched and to encourage them to make reductions. In this way, they act as an important check in an area that experiences almost 2 million pounds of toxic pollution each year.

Send your TRI stories to gsorvalis@ombwatch.org.