The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week for the first time released the 2003 Toxics Release Inventory reports for individual facilities in their raw form as they were reported to the agency and before it was quality checked.

In the past, this information was received, quality-checked, analyzed and released in the annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report.

The TRI program requires industrial facilities to publicly report quantities of toxic chemicals annually released into the air, water and land. TRI is an important tool that gives Americans public information on chemical releases for their community, so that they can make informed decisions about protecting their environment.

Many stakeholders have requested that the agency share TRI data sooner and in the basic format received, without waiting for further analysis.

The data is presented for each facility received by EPA, one reporting form for each chemical. Increased electronic reporting allowed EPA to publish the information earlier, and is part of EPA's initiative to modernize and streamline the TRI program.

The Electronic Facility Data Reporting (eFDR) Program provides facility-by-facility reporting for reporting year 2003. The traditional Public Data Release, which includes more quality checks, national trends and analysis, is expected in Spring 2005.

11/26/2004