DOI: 10.7910/dvn/nh9aes
title: Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Basic Data Files

description: The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Basic Data Files provide annual estimated toxic releases (i.e., pollutant mass emissions to air, water, and land) for specific pollutants that are required by regulations to be reported to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by federal and industrial facilities. This includes industries involved in manufacturing, metal mining, electric power generation, chemical manufacturing, or hazardous waste treatment. The inventory includes chemicals that may cause cancer, significant adverse acute or chronic human health effects, or significant adverse environmental effects. The TRI covers the United States and United States Territories during 1987 to 2023. The TRI provides the point locations (geographic coordinates) of polluting industrial facilities and their facility-reported annual estimated mass emissions by pollutant and release type (air, water, or land). The TRI includes more than 800 pollutants (e.g., benzene, ethylbenzene, xylene, toluene).
description: <b>Intended Use</b>Geospatial exposure assessment for studies in which a proximity-based metric is appropriateGeospatial exposure assessment for studies on longer-term health outcomes (e.g., chronic conditions)Cross-sectional studiesLongitudinal studies (with restrictions)Long-term studiesGeospatial exposure assessment at the individual-levelGeospatial exposure model developmentStudies of multi-pollutant mixturesInforming public health and/or environmental decision-making processes<br><b>Strengths</b>Dataset supports analysis of proximity to more than 20,000 polluting facilities by specific pollutant and year in the US over multiple decadesDataset includes detailed pollutant information with more than 800 specific chemicalsDataset supports analysis across multiple exposure pathways (air, water, and soil)Dataset supports trend analysis (with some limitations due to changes in TRI reporting requirements over time)<br><b>Limitations</b>EPA recommends use of TRI data as a starting point for evaluating potential exposures to certain chemicals and associated risks to human health or the environmentDataset does not include all polluting industrial facilities (e.g., facilities with less than ten employees are not required to report estimated emissions to the TRI) and does not include all sources of pollution (e.g., does not include estimated emissions from roadways, households, etc.)Data reporting methods (e.g., methods of estimating pollutant emissions) can vary by facility and yearDataset may not be suitable for all types of trend analyses due to changes in TRI reporting requirements, covered pollutants, and covered industrial facility types over timeData reported at the annual level and cannot be used to assess shorter-term pollutant emissions patternsIn some rare instances, the reported address of the facility may not match the physical location of the facilityProximity-based exposure metrics do not account for important physical and chemical factors (e.g., wind speed and direction, emission stack height) that would impact an individual's or population's exposure to pollutant emissions from a TRI facilityEPA recommends use of TRI data as a starting point for evaluating potential exposures to certain chemicals and associated risks to human health or the environmentDataset does not include all polluting industrial facilities (e.g., facilities with less than ten employees are not required to report estimated emissions to the TRI) and does not include all sources of pollution (e.g., does not include estimated emissions from roadways, households, etc.)Data reporting methods (e.g., methods of estimating pollutant emissions) can vary by facility and yearDataset may not be suitable for all types of trend analyses due to changes in TRI reporting requirements, covered pollutants, and covered industrial facility types over timeData reported at the annual level and cannot be used to assess shorter-term pollutant emissions patternsIn some rare instances, the reported address of the facility may not match the physical location of the facilityProximity-based exposure metrics do not account for important physical and chemical factors (e.g., wind speed and direction, emission stack height) that would impact an individual's or population's exposure to pollutant emissions from a TRI facility<br><b>Suggested Audience</b>Researcher<br>