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Accessing the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Database
An important resource has been made available to LEPC's and public safety persons. Community emergency planners, as well as local fire marshals, can make use of EPA's Toxic Chemical Release Inventory to learn of the presence of toxic and hazardous in their jurisdictions.
The Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) is a computerized database containing data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Section 313 (j) of SARA Title III. The TRI contains information on the annual estimated releases to the environment of the more than 300 toxic chemicals regulated under Section 313 of the Act. The law mandates that the data be made publicly available through a computer database. The EPA has implemented the TRI database through an interagency agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) as a component of the NLM's TOXNET system.
Many newspapers used information from the TRI database for stories they published last summer about the huge quantities of pollution being spewed into the atmosphere at various locations. USA TODAY is said to have purchased a copy of the entire database to use in developing their story.
The 1987 database contains information from over 74,000 reports from 18,000 plants. The 1988 database already has information from 85,000 reports and will not be fully online until May or June of 1990. Eventually, there will be five years of data available online.
Although the purpose of the report is to gather information on toxic releases, the facility reporting is required to list quantities of toxic materials on hand. The owner or operator of a covered facility must submit an emissions report by July 1 of each year covering emissions released during the preceding calendar year. The EPA has developed a new five page form (EPA Form R) for reporting purposes. A covered facility is not required to measure or monitor releases for purposes of Section 313 reporting. Instead, it may use readily available data to report the quantities of chemicals used and the amounts released into the environment. If no such data is available, the law permits a facility to report reasonable estimates. The EPA provides technical guidance on calculating releases to assist in making estimates.
A plant, factory, or other facility comes under the provisions of Section 313 if it meets all three of the following criteria:
1. If it conducts manufacturing operations (that is, if it is included in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes 20 through 39;
2. If, in addition, it has 10 or more full-time employees, and;
3. If, in addition to the above, it manufactures, imports, processes, or in any other way uses any of about 300 individual chemicals and 20 categories of chemicals in amounts greater than "threshold" quantities. The threshold quantity for 1987 was 75,000 pounds. For 1988 it was 50,000 pounds. For 1989 and subsequent years it is 25,000 pounds. The effect of reducing the threshold quantity level is to increase the number of plants covered by Section 313.
TRI data are arranged in the following broad categories:
Facility Identification.
Substance Identification.
Environmental Release of Chemical.
Waste Treatment.
Off-Site Waste Transfer.
TRI data includes the names, addresses, and public contacts of facilities that manufacture, process or otherwise use the reported chemicals, the maximum amount stored on site, the estimated quantity emitted into the air (point and non-point emissions), discharged into bodies of water, injected underground, or released to land, methods used in waste treatment and their efficiency, and data on the transfer of chemicals off- site for treatment and disposal, either to publicly owned treatment works or elsewhere.
The TRI data can be searched in several different ways to retrieve information on individual or multiple plants, on individual or groups of chemicals, on specific or broad geographical areas or various combinations. In addition to federal, state or local regulators, the TRI data is accessible to universities, companies, activist groups and private citizens. Here are several typical questions for which the TRI database can provide answers.
"Who owns the XYZ Ice Cream Novelties Plant and how much ammonia did the plant release into the air last year?"
"My zipcode is 75220. What toxic chemicals are being released in that area?"
"Is anyone releasing 1,1,1 tri-methyl death within five miles of my home?"
"How many above ground storage tanks larger than 500 gallons capacity are being used for storing flammable liquids within this county and where are they?"
The TRI database can be a valuable resource to LEPC's and public safety persons in locating chemical users within their jurisdictions. The Section 313 list is not as extensive as the several lists of chemicals composing the categories of extremely hazardous substances (EHS) covered in the reporting and planning sections of SARA Title. However, it represents a check source for those who can access TRI.
To gain access to TRI, a user must open an account with the NLM. An account with the NLM can be obtained by calling 1-800- 638-8480 and requesting the application forms for using the NLM online services. After an application has been processed, requiring two to three weeks, a user will receive a user identification code, password, telephone numbers, and other information. A TRI user may also access other databases within NLM at various online charges. The line charge for TOXNET is about $25.00 per hour during prime time and $18.00 per hour during non-prime time. Line charges for other NLM databases vary.
A long distance call is required to access TRI. Alternatively, access can be via TYMNET, TELENET, or CompuServe. Citizens without modems have somewhat limited access to TRI through regional EPA offices. Information on specific chemical release or releases by specific companies can be obtained by contacting the TRI coordinator at the nearest regional office.
In addition to online access, TRI information is available on magnetic tape and microfiche. It is expected to be available on CD-ROM in about six months. For further information about TRI, contact:
TRI Representative
Specialized Information Services
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Telephone (301) 496-6531
Transcript courtesy of; Roy Kinslow, 72027.2416@compuserve.com(Back)