Trends in Releases
The following graph shows the latest 10-year trend in total releases (also referred to as “total disposal or other releases”). Many factors can affect the trend in releases over time, including changes in facilities’ production rates, waste management practices, the composition of raw materials, and pollution control technologies.
Note: This chart excludes natural gas processing facilities which were not required to report to TRI prior to 2022.
From 2014 to 2023:
- Total releases of TRI chemicals: 838 million pound decrease (-21%).
- Air releases: 245 million pound decrease (-32%), driven by electric utilities.
- Surface water discharges: 33 million pound decrease (-15%).
- On-site land disposal: 457 million pound decrease (-18%).
- Off-site disposal: 103 million pound decrease (-23%).
- The overall decline was driven by reductions in land disposal from metal mines and electric utilities as well as reductions in air releases from electric utilities.
- The number of facilities that reported to TRI declined by 5%.
From 2022 to 2023:
- Total releases: 23 million pound increase (+1%), driven by increased land disposal from metal mines.
This page was published in August 2025 and uses the 2023 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2024.