Releases by Chemical and Industry
Releases by Chemical
Metals accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 3.3 billion pounds of TRI chemicals released in 2023.
Note: In this figure, metals are combined with their metal compounds, although metals and compounds of the same metal are listed separately on the TRI list (e.g., lead is listed separately from lead compounds).
- Metals reported to TRI are primarily disposed of to land, such as in regulated landfills and engineered waste rock piles at mines, while most nitrate compounds are discharged to water bodies, and most ammonia is released into the air.
Releases by Industry
The metal mining sector accounted for 45% of total releases (1.50 billion pounds), primarily in the form of on-site land disposal.
- Different industry sectors tend to release different chemicals. Learn more about the sectors reporting to TRI in the Sector Profiles section.
This page was published in August 2025 and uses the 2023 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2024.