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TRI ACCOUNTS FOR LESS THAN ONE 1/THOUSANDTH (.1%)
OF ANNUAL U.S. PRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS
The EPA's 1997 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Data Release reports that nearly 6 billion (5,992,534,483) pounds of toxic chemicals were released to the environment or transfered for disposal, recycling, or burned for energy-recovery. While this is an astonishingly high figure it pales when compared to the nearly 6 Trillion (6,000,000,000,000) pounds of chemicals that are produced in the U.S. annually. This is 6 trillion pounds that each year are produced, stored, processed, transported, disposed of, combined in consumer products, or legally, illegaly, or accidentally released to the environment where, to some degree, they accumulate in our bodies and other living things in our communities.
WHY DOES TRI ONLY ACCOUNT FOR ONE 1/THOUSANDTH?
- Only 647 chemicals of the 70,000 produced in the U.S. are on EPA's list of reportable chemicals.
- Only manufacturing facilities (sic code 20-39) must report.
- Only facilities with ten or more fulltime employees must report.
- Only facilities that manufacture or process 25,000 pounds or otherwise use 10,000 pounds of a listed chemical must report.
