xvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
April 2007
EPA530-F-07-014
www.epa.gov/osw
Report Shows Priority Chemical
Use  Down
         Action
             The Environmental Protection Agency has released its National Priority
         Chemicals Trends Report. The report shows that, since 2001, the quantity of priority
         chemicals in waste has decreased by 2.6 percent, with more than half of the 24
         priority chemicals showing decreases. Priority chemicals are chemicals that are
         persistent, highly toxic, and can accumulate in living organisms.
             The Trends Report is used to track EPA's progress toward its goal to reduce the
         presence of priority chemicals in waste by 10 percent by 2008, and to analyze the
         trends seen in managing 24 priority chemicals over a five-year period. The report
         analyzes 24 of the 31 priority chemicals found in industrial waste, using data reported
         between 2000 and 2004 to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). TRI is a publicly
         available database with information on the use, release, and management of more
         than 650 toxic chemicals within industrial and federal facilities.
             The report assists EPA in identifying opportunities for eliminating or reducing
         priority chemicals and assessing chemical reduction priorities.  EPA's National
         Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) also uses the Trends Report to
         promote priority chemical reduction by encouraging industrial  and federal facilities to
         voluntarily reduce the use of these priority chemicals in products and waste.
         For More Information
            For a complete listing of findings and an electronic version of the National
         Priority Chemicals Trends Report, please visit us on the web at: http://www.epa.gov/
         epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/trends.htm.

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