TRI Data Considerations

As with any dataset, there are multiple factors to consider when reviewing results or using TRI data. Key factors associated with the data presented in the TRI National Analysis are summarized below. For more information see Factors to Consider When Using Toxics Release Inventory Data.

• Covered chemicals and sectors: TRI does not include information from all facilities or industry sectors that may manage TRI chemicals as waste, nor does it cover every chemical manufactured, processed or otherwise used by facilities in the United States. The complete TRI chemical list and a list of the sectors covered by the TRI Program are available on TRI’s GuideME website.
• TRI trends: The expansion of TRI requirements for the natural gas processing sector beginning with the 2022 TRI data had an impact on national trends. Therefore, the natural gas processing sector is excluded from the overall releases and waste management trend graphs to make sure year-to-year data are comparable. While the TRI chemical list has also changed over the years to add valuable information on releases of specific chemicals, these chemical additions have not had a significant impact on nation-wide trends. Therefore, trends presented in the National Analysis include all chemicals reported each year.
• Reporting requirements: Facilities must report to TRI if they:
  • Operate in a covered industry sector;
  • Employ the equivalent of at least ten full-time employees; and
  • Manufacture, process, or otherwise use TRI-listed chemicals above listed threshold quantities within a calendar year. For most TRI chemicals, the threshold quantities are 25,000 pounds of the chemical manufactured or processed, or 10,000 pounds of the chemical otherwise used during a calendar year.
• Risk: TRI data can be a useful starting point to evaluate whether chemical releases may pose potential risks to human health and the environment. However, the quantity of a chemical release alone is not necessarily an indicator of exposure to the chemical or the potential health or environmental risks posed by the chemical. Note that:
  • Chemicals on the TRI list vary in toxicity; and
  • The extent of exposure to a chemical depends on many factors such as where the chemical is released, how it is released (i.e., into the air, water, or land), the chemical’s properties, and what happens to the chemical in the environment.
  • For more information on the use of TRI data as a starting point in evaluating risks to human health, see Factors to Consider When Using Toxics Release Inventory Data.
• Data quality: Facilities use their best available data to determine the quantities of chemicals they report to TRI. Each year, EPA conducts an extensive data quality review that includes contacting facilities about potential errors in reported information. This data quality review process helps ensure that the TRI National Analysis is based on accurate and complete information.
• Data presentation: The National Analysis is intended to convey key messages from the TRI data submitted by facilities. At times, the National Analysis may simplify certain technical details when they don't have a significant impact on the information presented.
• Late submissions, revisions and withdrawals: TRI reporting forms submitted to EPA or revised after the July 1 reporting deadline may not be processed in time to be included in the National Analysis. After EPA’s data quality review, the TRI data are frozen in October and this dataset is used to develop the National Analysis. Any revisions, late submissions, or withdrawals made after this date are not reflected in the National Analysis. These changes are incorporated into the TRI dataset during the spring data refresh and will be reflected in the next year’s National Analysis.

• Disposal or other release quantities: In the figure below, the value for “Disposal or Other Releases” in the waste managed pie chart (3.37 billion lb) on the left is greater than the value for “Total Disposal or Other Releases” (3.35 billion lb) in the pie chart on the right.

There are several reasons why these quantities differ slightly, including:

• Double counting: The 3.35-billion-pounds amount for total disposal or other releases excludes "double counting" that occurs when a facility reports transfers of TRI chemicals in waste to another TRI-reporting facility. For example, when Facility A transfers a chemical off site for disposal to Facility B, Facility A reports the chemical as transferred off site for disposal while Facility B reports the same chemical as disposed of on site. In processing the data, the TRI Program recognizes that this is the same quantity of the chemical and includes it only once in the total disposal or other releases metric. The waste managed metric in TRI, however, considers all instances where the TRI chemical in waste is managed (first as a quantity sent off site for disposal and next as a quantity disposed of on site), and includes both the off-site transfer and the on-site disposal. Typically, double counting accounts for most of the difference between the two release quantities shown in the double-pie figure above.
• Non-production related waste managed: Non-production-related waste refers to TRI chemical waste from one-time events, remedial actions, catastrophic events, or other events not associated with routine operations at a facility. Facilities typically report managing these waste quantities as on-site releases or transfers off site which are included in a facility’s total disposal or other releases but not in the overall total for waste managed.

For more information on TRI, the chemicals and industry sectors it covers, the reporting requirements, and to access TRI data, visit the TRI website.

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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.