Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2002-0006-0003
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2002-10-10T04:00Z

­
1­
TRI
DATA
RELEASE
PAPER
for
Stakeholder
Outreach
I.
BACKGROUND
This
is
one
of
three
papers
which
describe
aspects
of
the
Toxics
Release
Inventory
(
TRI)
Program
and
raise
issues
for
stakeholder
input.
The
scope
of
each
paper
corresponds
to
a
phase
of
the
annual
TRI
reporting
cycle.
TRI
data
for
a
calendar
year
must
be
reported
to
EPA
each
year
by
July
1st
after
the
end
of
the
year.
Therefore,
reporting
years
are
the
same
as
calendar
years.
The
"
reporting
cycle"
begins
with
EPA's
compliance
assistance
activities,
including
the
development
of
its
reporting
forms
and
instructions
package
that
is
mailed
to
facilities
in
approximately
March
of
each
year.
Once
EPA
receives
the
forms,
it
enters
the
data
from
the
forms
(
over
91,000
in
2000)
in
its
TRI
database.
After
entry
into
the
database,
EPA
runs
a
number
of
data
quality
checks
on
both
the
facility
identification
information
and
on
the
chemical­
specific
data.
After
the
data
entry
and
data
quality
steps
are
completed,
the
TRI
database
is
"
frozen"
for
analysis
and
development
of
data
products
for
release
to
the
public.
Generally,
EPA
announces
the
annual
release
of
the
TRI
data
by
holding
a
press
event
or
issuing
a
press
release,
and
simultaneously
notifying
a
wide
range
of
stakeholders.

The
background
paper
for
this
stakeholder
process
is
entitled
TRI
Data
Collection,
Processing
and
Management,
and
addresses
the
TRI
data
process
beginning
with
submission
of
the
forms
and
ending
at
the
data
"
freeze."
This
paper,
TRI
Data
Release
Issue
Paper
is
the
second
of
the
three;
it
discusses
TRI
data
products,
the
process
for
analyzing
and
releasing
the
TRI
data,
uses
of
the
data,
and
issues
and
considerations
associated
with
these
aspects
of
the
TRI
program.
The
third
paper
is
TRI
Compliance
Assistance
Activities.
TRI
compliance
assistance
activities
are
carried
out
throughout
the
year
with
certain
of
the
activities
being
closely
aligned
with
the
reporting
cycle.

As
noted
above,
each
year,
once
EPA
finishes
processing
the
TRI
data
it
receives
the
previous
July
1,
the
Agency
"
freezes"
the
data
in
order
to
prepare
the
data
for
the
TRI
public
data
release.
Once
the
TRI
data
is
"
frozen,"
it
takes
the
Agency
approximately
3
months
to
conduct
the
analyses,
prepare
the
data
release
reports,
and
prepare
the
data
access
tools
to
be
ready
to
"
release"
the
data
to
the
public.
Providing
quality
assurance
of
data
and
quality
management
of
the
public
information
and
data
tools
is
a
key
component
at
this
time.

EPA
makes
the
TRI
data
available
to
the
public
in
several
different
ways.
First,
the
data
are
provided
to
the
public
on­
line
through
two
EPA
data
access
tools:
TRI
Explorer
and
the
EPA
Envirofacts
on­
line
data
warehouse.
Second,
the
Agency
prepares
a
two­
volume
Public
Data
Release
(
PDR)
report
and
an
Executive
Summary
which
are
made
available
in
both
hard
copy
and
on
the
TRI
website.
Additional
background
materials,
including
charts
and
graphs,
state
and
national
data
files,
­
2­
press
materials,
etc.,
are
also
made
available
on
the
TRI
website.

While
some
stakeholders
have
voiced
concerns
that
EPA
is
not
providing
the
data
early
enough,
others
have
emphasized
the
need
for
the
Agency
to
analyze
the
data
and
provide
the
type
of
context
contained
in
the
PDR
reports
at
the
same
time
EPA
makes
the
TRI
data
publicly
available
each
year.
Undertaking
these
analyses
and
preparing
the
reports
in
a
manner
consistent
with
EPA
quality
systems
affects
the
timing
of
the
release
of
the
data.

The
purpose
of
this
issue
paper
is
to
describe
the
data
release
process
and
how
the
TRI
data
is
used,
in
order
to
solicit
stakeholder
input
on
the
process
and
the
data
products.
The
next
section
of
the
paper,
TRI
Data
Products,
describes
the
many
reports
and
data
access
tools
EPA
makes
available
for
the
TRI
data
release
each
year.
The
following
section,
entitled
TRI
Data
Release
Process
describes
how
the
data
products
are
prepared,
including
a
schedule
of
the
tasks
involved.
The
last
section
discusses
several
important
aspects
of
the
data
release
process
(
following
the
data
freeze),
such
as
timing
of
the
release,
the
need
for
context
for
the
data,
the
extent
of
data
quality
efforts,
etc.,
as
well
as
options
for
changing
these
aspects
of
the
release.
In
each
section
we
have
included
questions
in
italics
to
help
focus
the
stakeholder
comments.

II.
TRI
DATA
PRODUCTS
Public
Data
Release
Reports
Beginning
in
1988,
EPA
has
prepared
a
Public
Data
Release
Report,
or
set
of
reports,
each
year
in
order
to
summarize
the
TRI
data.
The
last
5
years'
data
release
reports
are
available
at
www.
epa.
gov/
tri/
tridata/
index.
htm#
pdr.
The
reports
can
also
be
obtained
by
calling
the
TRI
Documents
distribution
line
at
(
202)
564­
9554.

In
the
last
several
years
the
Agency
has
been
preparing
three
reports
for
the
TRI
data
release.
One
is
the
Public
Data
Release
Report,
which
provides
a
variety
of
analyses
of
the
data
including
industry
analyses,
trend
analyses,
analyses
of
the
data
by
media,
by
state,
and
by
chemical.
It
also
includes
a
large
chemical
table
which
summarizes
the
releases
for
each
chemical
for
the
current
year
and
select
previous
years,
including
the
first
year
of
reporting
on
the
chemical.
The
first
chapter
of
this
report
explains
the
TRI
reporting
requirements
and
how
they
have
changed
over
time.
It
also
describes
each
data
element
and
explains
the
factors
to
consider
when
using
the
data.
These
reports
are
roughly
400
pages
long,
including
appendices
that
are
approximately
200
pages.
They
contain
over
150
tables
and
figures.

When
the
Agency
is
reporting
on
a
set
of
chemicals
or
industries
for
the
first
time,
the
data
release
report
will
usually
include
more
in­
depth
analyses
of
those
industry
sectors
or
chemicals.
For
­
3­
instance,
this
year's
Public
Data
Release
report
on
the
2000
TRI
data
included
an
extensive
section
on
persistent
bioaccumulative
toxic
chemicals,
for
which
reporting
requirements
were
revised
in
2000.

The
second
major
information
product
prepared
each
year
is
the
"
State
Fact
Sheets"
report,
which
is
a
compilation
of
4­
page
fact
sheets
on
the
TRI
data
for
each
state
as
well
as
summary
tables
which
present
state
rankings
on
a
variety
of
measures
including
total
releases,
on­
site
releases,
off­
site
releases,
total
waste
managed,
releases
from
manufacturing,
and
from
non­
manufacturing
industries.
The
individual
state
fact
sheets
include
lists
of
top­
ranked
facilities
for
each
state.

The
third
information
product
is
an
executive
summary
which
is
approximately
12
pages
and
provides
an
overview
of
the
data,
including
summary
tables,
charts
and
graphs
showing
the
distribution
of
releases
and
total
wastes
by
industry,
by
media,
and
over
time.
It
includes
a
short
explanation
of
the
TRI
reporting
requirements
and
the
factors
to
be
considered
when
using
the
data.

In
the
past
few
years,
in
efforts
to
make
the
TRI
data
available
as
early
as
possible,
information
products
have
been
made
available
on
the
internet
at
the
time
the
data
is
released
and
the
printed
reports
have
been
made
available
approximately
6
weeks
later.
Thus,
the
Agency
is
able
to
release
the
TRI
data
6
weeks
earlier.

EPA
would
like
comments
on
each
of
the
data
release
reports,
including
how
they
meet
users'
data
and
information
needs,
and
suggestions
for
changes.

TRI
Electronic
Data
Access
Tools
EPA
has
two
main
TRI
electronic
data
access
tools,
the
TRI
Explorer
(
www.
epa.
gov/
triexplorer/
chemical.
htm)
and
Envirofacts
(
www.
epa.
gov/
enviro).
Both
can
be
accessed
through
the
TRI
web
site
at
www.
epa.
gov/
tri.
TRI
Explorer
is
a
user­
friendly
tool
that
enables
the
user
to
generate
reports
on
chemical
releases
and
other
waste
management
activities
by
facilities,
chemicals,
geographic
areas,
or
industry
type
at
the
county,
state,
or
national
level.
Envirofacts
is
EPA's
on­
line
data
"
warehouse"
which
provides
the
public
with
direct
access
to
EPA
databases
including
TRI.
Users
can
access
basic
facility
information
and
chemical
reports,
which
tabulate
air
emissions,
surface
water
discharges,
releases
to
land,
underground
injections,
and
transfers
to
off­
site
locations.
Envirofacts
also
allows
for
custom
queries,
allowing
the
user
to
focus
on
specific
data
elements
of
interest.

In
addition
to
these
data
access
tools,
EPA
prepares
TRI
data
files
(
in
ASCII)
that
more
sophisticated
users
can
take
and
analyze
themselves
using
data
management
and
analytical
tools
of
their
choice,
e.
g.,
spreadsheets
or
other
data
management
tools.
These
TRI
data
files
are
made
available
on
the
TRI
web
site
(
www.
epa.
gov/
tri/
tridata/
state_
data_
files.
htm).
They
are
available
by
state
or
on
a
­
4­
national
basis.

EPA
is
seeking
users'
comments
on
these
data
access
tools,
including
comments
on
how
they
do
or
don't
meet
user
needs.
Please
be
as
specific
as
possible
about
the
data
access
tool(
s)
you
are
commenting
on,
and
about
any
suggestions
for
improvements.

There
are
two
other
tools
for
accessing
TRI
data
which
have
been
developed
by
other
organizations.
One
is
RTKNET
(
www.
rtk.
net),
developed
by
the
organization
OMB
Watch.
It
provides
access
to
a
number
of
databases,
including
TRI,
for
communities
to
learn
about
their
environment.
The
other
is
TOXNET,
a
National
Library
of
Medicine
tool
to
search
the
TRI
data
online
(
www.
toxnet.
nlm.
nih.
gov).
Before
EPA
had
its
own
electronic
data
access
tools,
TOXNET
provided
the
only
electronic
access
to
the
TRI
data.

Other
TRI
Data
Products
When
the
TRI
data
is
made
available
to
the
public
each
year,
the
Agency
creates
a
Data
Release
web
page
(
www.
epa.
gov/
tri/
tridata/
tri00/
index.
htm)
that
provides
users
with
the
TRI
reports,
access
to
TRI
Explorer
and
Envirofacts,
and
a
number
of
other
information
products
that
help
summarize
and
provide
context
for
the
data.
These
include
a
set
of
press
materials
which
contain
summary
charts,
graphs,
and
tables,
an
overview
of
the
TRI
program
which
includes
an
explanation
of
the
limitations
of
the
data,
Q's
and
A's,
and
other
information
that
provides
context
to
the
TRI
data.

EPA
would
like
comments
on
these
additional
data
tools
in
terms
of
how
well
they
meet
users'
needs.

EPA
is
also
seeking
comments
on
the
whole
suite
of
tools
made
available
for
accessing
and
using
the
TRI
data.
Do
these
tools
as
a
whole
meet
the
wide
range
of
user
needs?
Do
users
need
more
links
to
other
data,
including
exposure,
health,
and
environmental
data,
in
order
to
effectively
utilize
the
TRI
data?
Is
more
context
information
needed?
Are
there
ways
EPA
can
partner
with
other
organizations
to
produce
new
tools?

III.
TRI
DATA
RELEASE
PROCESS
Development
of
all
the
data
products
that
have
been
described
here
takes
approximately
3
months,
with
many
of
the
project
tasks
being
done
simultaneously.
EPA
has
contractor
support
for
preparing
both
the
data
release
reports
and
the
on­
line
data
access
tools.
The
most
time­
consuming
part
of
the
process
of
analyzing
and
releasing
the
data
is
the
preparation
of
the
two­
volume
data
release
reports,
which
take
the
entire
three
months,
including
review
time.
Figure
1
(
attached)
lays
out
the
steps
required
to
prepare
the
data
release
reports
and
the
TRI
Explorer
data
access
tool.
Many
of
the
­
5­
steps
are
performed
simultaneously
because
of
the
need
to
release
the
data
as
soon
as
possible.

One
of
the
first
steps
in
the
process
is
preparing
an
outline
and
list
of
tables
and
figures
to
be
included
in
the
data
release
reports.
This
is
done
prior
to
the
data
freeze.
Following
the
data
freeze,
the
first
major
task
involved
with
preparing
the
data
release
reports
is
to
develop
the
data
tables
for
preparing
the
public
data
release
reports
and
for
checking
the
TRI
Explorer.
These
are
necessary
to
analyze
the
data
and
write
up
the
results.
These
tables
are
submitted
to
EPA
for
review.
Preparing
a
first
draft
of
the
entire
Public
Data
Release
report
takes
about
8
weeks
from
the
time
the
data
is
frozen
(
some
of
the
text
is
prepared
before
all
the
tables
are
run).
After
review
and
comment
by
EPA
the
draft
needs
to
be
sent
to
the
design
subcontractor
for
layout.
This
step
takes
about
1
week.
Finally
approximately
2
weeks
are
needed
for
review
and
comment
by
the
Agency.

The
State
Fact
Sheets
and
the
ranking
tables
contained
in
the
State
Fact
Sheets
Report
take
roughly
2
weeks
to
prepare
in
draft
form,
and
then
a
week
is
required
for
formatting
and
layout
by
the
design
subcontractor.
Then
they
are
submitted
to
EPA
for
review
both
by
EPA
and
the
states.
EPA
has
the
regional
TRI
coordinators
distribute
individual
state
fact
sheets
to
the
TRI
coordinators
in
their
region
to
review
and
make
sure
they
are
consistent
with
their
databases.
This
review/
correction
process
takes
approximately
2.5
weeks.
Therefore,
a
total
of
about
5­
6
weeks
is
necessary
for
preparation
of
the
State
Fact
Sheets
Report.

The
Executive
Summary
takes
approximately
6
weeks
to
prepare,
including
approximately
2
weeks
for
analyzing
the
data
and
developing
the
tables
and
2
weeks
for
the
text.
In
addition,
approximately
2
weeks
is
needed
for
review
and
design
work
on
the
report.
Finally
a
week
is
needed
for
printing.

Timeframes
for
the
development
of
the
additional
data
release
materials
are
provided
in
Figure
1,
i.
e.
roughly
1.5
weeks
for
the
contractor
to
develop
press
materials,
4
weeks
for
EPA
to
create
the
national
and
state
data
files
in
ASCII,
6
weeks
for
EPA
to
develop
and
coordinate
Agency
review
of
a
set
of
Qs
and
As
on
the
data
(
once
the
tables
are
prepared),
and
5
weeks
to
prepare
materials
for
notifying
interested
parties
of
the
data
release.

Preparation
of
the
TRI
Explorer
for
the
TRI
public
data
release
varies
depending
upon
whether
enhancements
are
being
introduced
at
the
time
of
the
data
release.
If
no
new
enhancements
are
being
introduced,
it
should
take
approximately
2
months
to
prepare
the
TRI
Explorer
for
the
data
release.
If
new
enhancements
are
being
introduced,
additional
time
is
needed
for
developing,
testing,
and
correcting
the
tool,
increasing
the
total
time
needed
to
about
2.5
­
3
months.

IV.
OPTIONS
FOR
RELEASING
THE
TRI
DATA
EARLIER
­
6­
There
are
ways
in
which
the
Agency
could
reduce
the
amount
of
time
it
takes
to
make
the
data
available
after
the
data
freeze.
One
way
would
be
to
simply
make
the
data
available
through
Envirofacts
and
TRI
Explorer.
This
would
take
approximately
6­
7
weeks
from
the
data
freeze.
However,
it
would
not
allow
the
Agency
time
to
analyze
the
data
in
order
to
answer
questions
that
might
be
raised
nor
time
to
prepare
contextual
materials
other
than
the
standard
documents
that
explain
the
data
and
its
limitations.
In
addition,
it
would
eliminate
part
of
the
data
quality
efforts
that
are
carried
out
during
this
time
period.

Another
option
for
reducing
the
amount
of
time
it
takes
to
release
the
data
would
be
to
prepare
the
Executive
Summary,
as
is
currently
done,
along
with
the
release
of
the
data
on
TRI
Explorer
and
Envirofacts.
This
would
take
approximately
8­
9
weeks
from
the
data
freeze
and
would
allow
a
little
time
to
review
the
data
and
to
begin
to
anticipate
questions.
However,
very
little
analysis
could
be
done
in
this
time.
In
both
cases,
the
complete
Public
Data
Release
Reports
could
be
completed
and
released
after
the
release
of
the
data.

V.
ISSUES
AND
CONSIDERATIONS
Timing
All
things
being
equal,
we
would
clearly
like
to
make
the
TRI
data
available
to
the
public
as
early
as
possible
since
data
is
more
useful
the
more
current
it
is.
Since
the
reporting
deadline
is
July
1
following
the
year
for
which
the
data
is
reported,
there
is
a
statutory
6
month
delay
before
the
data
are
submitted
to
EPA
and
the
states.
As
is
discussed
in
more
detail
in
the
paper
describing
the
processing
of
the
TRI
data,
the
Agency
takes
a
few
months
to
enter
the
data
and
undertake
quality
assurance
measures
before
freezing
the
data.
This
paper
has
discussed
the
process
the
Agency
traditionally
goes
through
to
analyze
the
data
and
prepare
reports
summarizing
and
explaining
the
data.
In
order
to
release
the
data
sooner
after
freezing
the
data,
we
would
need
to
forego
some
or
all
of
the
analysis
and
report­
writing,
which
could
have
implications
for
the
quality
of
the
data,
and
the
amount
of
analysis
and
context
made
available
to
the
public.

EPA
is
seeking
comment
on
the
timing
of
the
data
release,
and
on
the
preferred
tradeoffs
that
should
be
made
in
order
to
change
the
timing
of
the
data
release.
For
instance,
if
a
commenter
feels
strongly
that
the
TRI
data
needs
to
be
released
at
least
3
months
earlier,
we
would
like
the
commenter's
suggestions
regarding
how
to
accomplish
that,
e.
g.,
specific
recommendations
on
scaling
back
or
eliminating
the
data
release
reports
Context
EPA
has
always
prepared
its
data
analysis
and
some
type
of
report
prior
to
releasing
the
data.
­
7­
In
addition,
some
type
of
press
announcement
is
always
made
at
the
time
of
the
release
to
make
people
aware
that
the
data
is
available.
Over
the
years,
many
stakeholders
have
indicated
that
they
feel
it
is
important
for
the
Agency
to
provide
context
when
releasing
the
data
since,
otherwise,
there
could
be
a
lot
of
room
for
misinterpretation.
Providing
this
context
adds
to
the
time
it
takes
to
make
the
data
available.

EPA
is
seeking
comment
on
the
context
currently
provided
when
we
release
the
TRI
data,
including
specific
recommendations
for
change.
For
instance,
if
you
would
like
to
see
more
context
provided,
please
provide
recommended
additions.

Extent
of
Data
Analysis
Given
the
huge
volume
of
data
in
the
TRI
database,
there
is
much
analysis
that
can
be
done
on
it.
However,
the
Agency
is
limited
in
the
amount
of
analysis
that
can
be
done
on
the
data
because
of
the
need
to
make
the
data
available
as
quickly
as
possible.
Therefore,
there
are
many
questions
about
the
data
which
cannot
be
fully
answered
at
the
time
of
the
data
release.
If
we
consider
trying
to
accelerate
the
data
release
schedule,
we
need
to
recognize
the
fact
that
the
Agency's
analysis
of
the
data
will
be
even
more
limited
than
it
has
been.
Therefore,
questions
may
be
raised
about
the
data
that
cannot
be
answered
immediately.

EPA
is
seeking
comment
on
the
extent
of
the
data
analysis
currently
conducted
as
well
as
specific
recommendations
for
change.
If
you
are
recommending
that
the
Agency
conduct
additional
analysis
prior
to
releasing
the
data,
please
comment
on
your
willingness
to
have
the
data
released
later
than
it
currently
is.

Data
Quality
Assuring
the
quality
of
the
TRI
data
has
been,
and
continues
to
be
an
important
aspect
of
the
TRI
Program.
The
utility
of
the
data
is
dependent
upon
how
credible
it
is.
The
most
important
data
quality
activities
are
discussed
in
the
other
issue
papers.
For
example,
the
compliance
assistance
issue
paper
discusses
the
many
TRI
guidance
documents,
training
workshops,
the
hotline,
etc.
The
other
issue
paper
addressing
TRI
data
receipt
and
processing
discusses
several
data
quality
steps
taken
prior
to
the
data
freeze.
In
addition,
as
the
data
is
analyzed
following
the
data
freeze,
additional
quality
assurance
is
undertaken.
At
this
stage
in
the
process,
it
is
very
difficult
for
the
Agency
to
change
the
data
since
it
has
already
been
"
frozen"
and
generally
many
analyses
have
already
been
performed.
Therefore,
if
significant
errors
are
discovered,
the
remedy
is
usually
to
explain
them
in
a
footnote.

If
EPA
were
to
try
and
speed
the
release
of
the
TRI
data
following
the
data
release,
data
quality
could
be
compromised
to
some
extent.
For
example,
in
the
process
of
developing
the
Public
­
8­
Data
Release
and
State
Fact
Sheets
reports,
EPA
occasionally
discovers
significant
errors,
mostly
resulting
from
erroneous
submissions.
If
EPA
were
to
simply
make
the
data
available
through
Envirofacts
and
TRI
Explorer,
it's
unlikely
these
types
of
errors
would
be
caught,
partly
due
to
the
fact
that
we
would
not
be
having
the
states
check
the
State
Fact
Sheet
data.

Options
for
expediting
the
TRI
data
release
are
likely
to
include
eliminating
or
reengineering
some
of
the
data
quality
activities,
and
placing
greater
responsibility
on
the
reporting
facilities
to
submit
their
data
correctly
in
the
first
place.
This
could
compromise
data
quality
in
the
short
run
as
we
move
to
the
new
approach,
but
could
benefit
the
program
in
the
long
run.

EPA
is
seeking
comment
on
users'
trade­
off
preferences
between
data
quality
and
timing
of
the
data
release.
For
instance,
is
expediting
the
release
of
the
data
important
enough
to
users
that
they
are
willing
to
tolerate
the
possibility
that
there
will
be
more
errors
in
the
data
at
the
time
of
release?

Digital
Divide
Given
budget
constraints,
the
growth
of
the
Internet,
and
the
pressure
to
make
information
available
as
quickly
as
possible,
we
have
become
more
and
more
reliant
on
the
Internet
to
make
the
TRI
data
available.
We
need
to
keep
in
mind
that
there
are
still
many
citizens
that
need
the
TRI
data
who
cannot
access
it
electronically
very
easily.
Many
of
the
options
for
expediting
the
release
of
the
data
rely
exclusively
on
electronic
data
access.

EPA
is
seeking
comment
on
whether
or
not
the
digital
divide
is
a
significant
issue,
and
if
it
is,
how
EPA
should
be
addressing
it
with
respect
to
the
TRI
public
data
release.