TRI Connections

Beyond TRI, there are many other EPA programs that collect information about regulated chemicals. The figure below is an overview of key laws that EPA implements with some associated regulated activities or industrial processes.

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a uniquely powerful resource that collects information about how toxic chemicals are managed by certain facilities in the United States. While most EPA programs focus on one environmental medium, the TRI Program covers all environmental media by tracking toxic chemical releases to air, water, and land, as well as chemical waste transfers. TRI also tracks other waste management practices and the implementation of pollution prevention. Since facilities report annually, TRI is one of EPA’s most up-to-date sources of data. The data can be used with other datasets to provide a more complete understanding of national trends in chemical waste management practices.

Throughout EPA, offices use TRI data to support their mission to protect human health and the environment. These uses include technical analysis for regulation, informing program priorities, providing information to stakeholders, and many other applications.

Data Quality

Across communities, industries, universities, and governments, people use Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data to inform decisions and influence outcomes. The TRI Program works collaboratively with industrial facilities to assist them in collecting and submitting accurate TRI data.

Data from other EPA programs help the TRI Program check TRI data quality

To help facilities submit high-quality data, the TRI program provides reporting software with built in checks, training for form preparers, and guidance documents. Once facilities certify and submit their reporting forms, the TRI Program reviews these submissions to look for potential data quality issues.

Each year, the TRI Program contacts certain facilities as part of the TRI data quality process. EPA typically conducts data quality checks in two phases: in the summer immediately following the July 1 reporting deadline to identify and resolve the most impactful data quality issues prior to the public release of the data; and in the spring to address other possible errors.

While the Toxics Release Inventory is EPA’s only multimedia reporting program, EPA has several other media-specific programs facilities might report to. During its spring data quality checks, the TRI Program compares TRI reporting to media-specific data like Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMR), the National Emissions Inventory (NEI), e-manifests required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and other data from states and Tribes, to TRI data to identify potential errors in TRI reporting forms.

National Emissions Inventory Comparison

The National Emissions Inventory (NEI) is a database of air releases compiled under the Clean Air Act. NEI combines data from multiple sources such as facility reporting and supplements the data with estimates. The TRI Program contacts facilities if:

• They have air releases of a chemical in NEI, but no air releases for that chemical in TRI.
• There are large differences in the amount of air releases in NEI versus TRI.

Discharge Monitoring Report Comparison

The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires facilities releasing pollutants into U.S. waters to obtain a permit for those releases. Most facilities with CWA permits are also required to periodically submit Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) to states or EPA describing the amount of each pollutant released into water. EPA publishes a dashboard on its website comparing TRI and DMR data. The TRI Program contacts facilities if:

• They have water releases reported on DMRs, but no water releases for that chemical in TRI.
• There are large differences in the amount of water releases reported in the facility’s DMRs compared to its TRI reporting.

Tier II Comparison

Under Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA, which also created TRI), facilities must report information about the chemicals on site to their state and local emergency planning commissions. This information is called a “Tier II” report. Among other information, the Tier II data include an inventory of all hazardous chemicals present on site and the amounts present. Some states provide this information to EPA. The TRI program contacts facilities if:

• They reported storing TRI chemicals on site in quantities likely to exceed a TRI threshold but did not report one or more of those chemicals to TRI.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act e-Manifest Comparison

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulates storage, treatment, and disposal of solid waste. Under RCRA, facilities have recordkeeping requirements such as completing electronic manifests (e-manifests) for shipments of hazardous waste. These e-manifests describe the waste being shipped, its quantity, potential hazards, and the address of the sending and receiving facilities. About 40% of facilities that generate hazardous waste report to the TRI Program. The TRI Program contacts facilities if:

• They reported waste transfers of a chemical but did not report that chemical or the off-site transfers to TRI.
• They were reported as the recipient of waste containing a TRI chemical but did not report that chemical to TRI.

Potential Data Quality Issues Identified

The TRI program identified a total of almost 2,000 potential data quality issues during the 2023 summer and spring data quality checks. About 40% of these potential errors were identified by comparing TRI reporting to other programs. To correct these potential errors, facilities submitted approximately 1,000 revisions or late reports and withdrew about 50 forms. The chart below shows the types of potential issues identified in the 2023 TRI data based on both the summer and spring data quality checks.

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This page was published in August 2025 and uses the 2023 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2024.