TRI Explorer

http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/
Current Public Version 4.8
For Reporting Year 2007
TRI Explorer

• How Do I Find TRI Explorer?

• What Is TRI Explorer?
• What Has Happened During Past Year?
• What’s Happening Now?
• What Can TRI Explorer Do?

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TRI Explorer
Many Ways to Find Us

• www.epa.gov/triexplorer
• TRI Homepage www.epa.gov/tri
– Click on map or
– Enter Zip Code

• www.epa.gov
– Click “More searches” tab
– Enter a zip code
– Click radio button next to TRI

• Browser Search on term TRI Explorer

– (Google, Live Search, Yahoo Search, etc)
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 TRI Explorer
What is TRI Explorer
• Web-Based Tool (Primary Analytical Software – SAS)
– Available 7/24/365 on Public Internet
– Simple User Interface
– Response Time Typically Less than 5 Seconds (up to 2 Minutes)

• Analytical Capabilities
– Sort
– Multi-year Trends
– Dynamic Choropleth Mapping (Color = Range of Values)
– Data May be Downloaded in Standard Format

• Contains Latest PDR Data

– Historically at Least One Mid Cycle Update
– Chemical Release History Starting 1988

• Customized Data Reports by

– Chemical, Chemical Group, Industry, Geography, Year, Release Type

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 TRI Explorer
Why Might TRI Explorer Not Be the Right Tool

• You require less frequently used data elements

• You require detail toxicity data
• You require associations with non TRI or non EPA data sets
• You require all data for off-line analysis
• You desire very precise slicing
• You require a higher level of GIS capabilities
• You simply prefer someone else’s presentation of data
• Some options include:
– TRI.NET TRI-CHIP Envirofacts
– ToxMap (National Library of Medicine) RTKNet (OMB Watch)
– Chemicalright2know.org (coming soon)
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 TRI Explorer
Why Might TRI Explorer Be the Right Tool

• Right size chunks of data

• Right speed
• Right technical level for many users
• Right combination of variable for many users

• A tool where sum ≠ total is an asset

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 TRI Explorer
The Sum ≠ The Total (aka Double Counting)
• Our objectives revolve around releases to the environment
• Our data revolves around individual facilities

Releases
F1 TRI Universe Actual

Facility
1
2 F3 Releases to
R=3 1
3
2
Environment
R=4
3 1 F1 3

4 F2 R=1 4 2 F2 1
3
F3 4
4
Sum 8

** The figure above is an overly simplified model to illustrate a concept.

Real world conditions include non TRI facilities shipping to F3, F1
transferring material to multiple F3s, F3 releasing less than received. 7
Additional nightmares are ever present to play with your algorithm
TRI Explorer
Quick Reminder if Double Counting Is Considered

OR

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TRI Explorer
Top 6 Mistakes / User Problems

• 1) Pop-up blockers
• 2) Java disabled
• 3) “As reported” categories vs commonly used categories.
– Example. Metals reported in M40 & M61 instead of M42 & M62.
– Each tool includes metadata / user guides / notes which tells you what is
included in subtotals 4) Comparing Releases to “As Reported” Releases

• 5) Forgetting we are dealing with estimates

• 6) Not verifying report title / Not reading notes

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TRI Explorer
Past Year’s Events

• Mostly unseen to users

• Improved data acquisition process into TRI Explorer
– Eliminates lag in data updates between Envirofacts and Explorer

• External Search Agents

– Fended off extremely high # visits by web crawlers (early in year)
– Resolved performance interferences (Dec / Jan)

• Resolved compatibility problem with specific combination of

Internet Explorer and Java
• Additional Links (on Tab line)
– Tutorial
– TRI Home page

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TRI Explorer
What’s Happing Now

• Major cleaning of underlying code (in process)

• Looking at new capabilities in current version of SAS
– Current TRI Explorer designed on capabilities of SAS software as it
existed 10 years ago.

• Preparing for display of TEQ values

• Ongoing low level research –
– Can we gain value from “how” TRI Explorer is utilized?
• Public has about a 5 day attention span
• Attention focused on local geography over all else
• Different communities of users behave differently

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 Number Unique ISPs

0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
3/1
2/2
00
3/1 9
3/2
00
3/1 9
4/2
00
3/1 9
5/2
00
3/1 9
TRI Explorer

6/2
00
3/1 9
7/2
00
3/1 9
8/2
00
3/1 9
9/2
00
3/2 9
0/2
Does TRI Explorer Actually Get Used ?

00
3/2 9
1/2
00
3/2 9
2/2
Recent Usage of TRI Explorer

00
3/2 9
3/2
00
3/2 9
4/2
00
3/2 9
5/2
00
3/2 9
6/2
00
9
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TRI Explorer
What State Received Highest Interest
or had best media coverage?
Total #ISPs Requesting A Increase Over
State Specific State Previous Week (x)
IN 508 169
VA 388 43
OH 623 39
MO 272 39
TX 923 38
MI 386 30
TN 286 29
FL 274 27
WI 272 23
GA 367 20
IL: 373 16
MN 273 15
KY 319 12
CA 350 10
AL 274 5
Excludes - .epa.gov and .edu
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Data for 3/19 and 3/20 compared to 3/12 and 3/13
TRI Explorer
User Interface

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TRI Explorer
Results – Chemical Report

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TRI Explorer
Results – Facility Report at Zip Code Level

Links to Form R Report in Envirofacts

Links to Facility Profile Report (Next Slide)

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TRI Explorer
Results – Linking to IRIS Data

Scroll Down

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TRI Explorer
Dynamic Choropleth Mapping

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 Users of TRI Explorer
(Sampling of log files from 2005 / 2006)

Our assumption
This is where the “public” appears 19
TRI Explorer
• Extra Slides

• Not to be distributed with any package available to

attendees

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TRI Explorer
Results – Form R Report in Envirofacts

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TRI Explorer
Results – Download All Data From Facility
Profile Report

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TRI Explorer
Double Counting more than just dividing by 2

TRI Universe
F1
F3

F2
Actual
TRI Universe Releases to
F1 Environment
F3

F2

Non-TRI
Facility
F4
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And Many More Scenarios