The TRI Public Data

Release (PDR)
Andy Carnahan, US EPA
TRI National Training Conference
April 1, 2009
 Session Overview

• Overview of the data release process

• Results of PDR analysis of 2007 TRI data
• Delving into the Data (Catherine Miller, HRI)
• Future of the PDR
 The TRI Business Cycle

Step 3: Public Data Step 1: Facilities

Release provides national submitted 2007 data
data and analytic tools by July 1, 2008
March 2009

Step 2: EPA
makes individual
reports public
September 2008
 Before the analysis can start…

• Submission deadline: July 1

– Process 85,000+ forms

• Data quality checks

– Facilities are ultimately responsible for their data, but without data
quality checks the usefulness would suffer

• Revisions
– Revisions must be sent in by facilities
 The eFDR

• EPA puts the data out on a facility-by-facility basis:

the electronic Facility Data Release (eFDR)
– Lets facilities see their own data
– Lets the public see the data for individual facilities
– Still steps that need to be done before the PDR analysis
 The “Frozen” Data

• Data needs to be “frozen” to do analysis for PDR

– “Frozen” = complete, unchanging (almost)
– We need to know that we’re all working with the same data
– If someone repeats EPA’s analysis on the day of the PDR, it should
be the same
– Contains the new data for this year and revised data for previous
years
 “Double Counting”

• What is “double counting”?

– Some TRI facilities send their off-site releases to other TRI facilities
– Those facilities report those releases as on-site releases
– When we add up the “Total Disposal or Other Releases”, we would
be counting them twice

• What do we do about it?

– Try to match sending and receiving facilities (RCRA IDs)
– Subtract off-site releases that we can account for as on-site
releases at another facility
 The PDR Analyses

• Once all of these steps have been completed, we can

start analysis
– Current year totals, trends, industry sectors, PBTs, carcinogens,
“hazard” analysis based on RSEI
– Disposal or Other Releases and Production-Related Waste

• The analyses help us answer questions and put

together the PDR products
– Products used to include large book of analysis and tables
– Currently include Summary Brochure, Key Findings, Charts and
Tables, State Fact Sheets, online access to tool for analyzing data
 The PDR Analyses

• Analysis in PDR provides overview

– Provide a basis for comparing national, regional, and state
information, but…
• Much of the value of TRI is at the community level

• Tools allow access to data and facilitate analysis

– TRI Explorer, Envirofacts, TRI.Net (coming soon!)
– New tutorials on accessing and analyzing TRI data
Key Findings of the 2007 TRI PDR
 Key Findings of 2007 TRI Public
Data Release

• Total TRI releases are down 5%

– Some chemicals up, others down

• Facilities reporting to TRI are down 6%

– We are looking into this trend

• Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT)

chemicals are up 1%
 Total TRI Releases are
Driven by a Few Industries

Other
23% Metal Mining
28%

Chemicals
12%

Primary Metals Electric Utilities

12% 25%

*Data from total disposal and other releases from 2007 TRI data
 Key Findings - Industries

• Most have decreased total disposal and other releases from

2006 to 2007
– Metal mining releases down 8%
– Electrical utilities releases down 1%
– Chemical manufacturing releases down 7%
– Paper industry releases down 7%

• Increases in only two large sectors

– Primary metals increased 1%
– Hazardous waste management increased 3%

• Federal Facilities total disposal or other releases down 11%

 Total Releases are Driven by
Land and Air
Land releases Air releases
• driven by land • driven by electric
disposal from metal utilities
mining

44% 32%

6%
5%
13%
Surface Water
Discharges

Total Off-site Releases Underground Injection

*Data from total disposal and other releases from 2007 TRI data
 Key Findings – Environmental
Media

• Total air releases are down by 7%

– Electric utilities air releases down 5%

• Surface water discharges decreased by 5%

• Landfills increased by 1%
– One primary metals facility accounts for most of the increase
 Questions and Comments

Contact:
Andy Carnahan
Staff Lead, TRI Public Data Release
Carnahan.Andrew@epa.gov
(202) 566-0607
Next: Delving into the Data
Catherine Miller (Hampshire Research)