Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program

Basics of TRI Reporting

Every year, TRI data are submitted by certain industrial facilities and made available to the public; an overview of this process and the TRI reporting criteria are provided below. Please note that the reporting criteria are described in general terms, and that more specific guidance is available in the TRI Reporting Forms and Instructions document.

 Annual Data Collection Cycle

Annual Data Collection Cycle. Five step process begins with January-June: Facilities Prepare and Submit Forms. Next is July 1: TRI Formas Due to EPA. Third section is July: TRI Preliminary Dataset Available. Fourth section is July-October: Ongoing Data Processing and Analysis. Last section is December: TRI National Analysis Available.

To learn more about the annual data collection cycle, click on one of the time periods below:

  • January-June Facilities Prepare and Submit Forms
  • July 1 TRI Forms Due to EPA
    • Deadline for facilities that meet TRI reporting requirements to submit TRI forms for toxic chemical management that occurred during the previous calendar year.
  • July TRI Preliminary Dataset Available
    • The preliminary dataset for the recently-concluded reporting year is available in downloadable files on the TRI website and in Envirofacts.
  • July - October Ongoing Data Processing and Analysis
    • The preliminary dataset is updated as additional reporting forms are processed.
    • EPA begins conducting its analysis of the most recent TRI data, which will be published in the TRI National Analysis.
  • December / January TRI National Analysis Available

Ongoing Activities

  • The TRI Program conducts data quality checks and provides analytical support for enforcement efforts led by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA).
  • Preparations continue for the next TRI reporting cycle.

Reporting Criteria

If a facility meets all three of the criteria below, it must report to the TRI Program:

Illustration of a generic industrial facility
Is in a specific industry sector (e.g., manufacturing, mining, electric power generation)
Illustration of a diverse group of 10 employees wearing hardhats.
Employs 10 or more full-time equivalent employees
Illustration of four laboratory glass containers of different shapes and sizes containing different colored liquids.
Manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses a TRI-listed chemical in quantities above threshold levels in a given year. 

Facilities that meet all of these criteria must:

  • Submit a TRI Form R (long form) for each TRI-listed chemical it manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses in quantities above the reporting threshold.
  • Submit each TRI form to both EPA and the state in which the facility is located (or to the appropriate tribe, if located in Indian country).
Note:
  • Federal facilities are required to report if they meet the employee and chemical use thresholds regardless of their industry sector.
  • Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic chemicals (PBTs) have lower reporting thresholds.
  • Facilities may be eligible to submit a shorter version of a TRI form (Form A) if all three of these criteria are met:
    1. The chemical being reported is NOT a PBT chemical;
    2. The chemical has not been manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in excess of 1,000,000 lbs.; and
    3. The total annual waste management (i.e., recycling, energy recovery, treatment, and disposal or other releases) of the chemical does not exceed 500 lbs.

Method of Reporting

Facilities submit TRI reporting forms using TRI-MEweb, EPA's online TRI reporting application.

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TRI