5
O
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Toxics Release Inventory Update
Texas Mexico Border
Reporting Years 2005 - 2007
U.S. EPA Region 9
Arizona, Texas,
Hawaii, Nevada, the
Pacific Islands, and
Tribal Nations
— January 2009
The EPA made public the 2007 data on the toxic
chemicals that were released to the air, water, and land
of Texas's Border region.* This report provides data
from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for the
facilities in Texas that are located within 100
kilometers (using 245 zip code areas) of the
U.S./Mexico Border.
What is a release?
A TRI "release" is defined as the amount of a toxic
chemical released on-site (to air, water, underground
injection, landfills, and other land disposal), and the
amount transferred off-site for disposal.
Releases and health effects
It is important to note that releases should not be
directly equated with risk. To evaluate risk, release
data must be combined with information about
chemical toxicity, site-specific conditions, and
exposure. In addition, this data does not indicate
whether or not a facility is violating environmental
laws. Many of the substances reported through this
program are subject to state and federal regulations
designed to protect human health and the environment.
Who is reporting?
A facility is subject to TRI reporting requirements if it
has 10 or more full-time employee equivalents (20,000
work hours per year); is classified under a reportable
North American Industrial Classification System
(NAICS) Code; and manufactures, processes, or
otherwise uses any of the TRI chemicals in amounts
above established threshold amounts. For most
chemicals the thresholds are 25,000 pounds for
"manufactured" or "processed," and 10,000 pounds for
"otherwise used."
TRI Chemical Releases
Total (on-site and off-site) TRI chemical releases
reported in the Texas Mexico Border Region during
the past three years are displayed in the chart below:**
Total On-site and Off-site Releases
•a
o
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
2005
2006
Reporting Year
2007
In 2007, reported releases in the Border area of Texas
(1.4 million pounds) accounted for less than 0.01% of
the State's 212 million pounds of reported releases.
Total reported air releases in the Border area of Texas
during the past three years are displayed in the chart
below:
Total Air Releases
2005
2006
Reporting Year
2007
Trends in Releases
* No adjustments were made to account for double counting that could occur as a result of off-site transfers of some TRI facilities also
being reported as on-site releases at permitted hazardous -waste landfills and other TRI facilities that receive the on-site transfers.
** Year to year data comparisons do not reflect changes in reporting requirements.
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In 2007, 24 facilities in the Border area of Texas
reported releases of approximately 1.4 million pounds
of toxic chemicals to the TRI Program. The following
chart tracks releases to the environment for reporting
years 2005 through 2007.
Total Releases for Reporting Years 2005 - 2007
Year
2005
2006
2007
Air
408,578
461,922
540,807
Water
12
19
15
On-Site
Land
360,693
140,033
240,845
Under-
ground
Injection
2
14
2
Off-Site
804,803
582,697
678,285
Largest Releases by Industry Type
During 2007, five industries account for 94% of the
total 1.4 million pounds of reported releases in the
Border area of Texas.
Industry
Primary Metals
Petroleum
U.S. Army Air Defense
Stone/Clay/Glass
Fabricated Metals
Total Release
(pounds)
585,671
319,980
236,145
211,928
33,757
Percentage
of Total
Releases
40%
22%
16%
14%
2%
Largest Releases by Chemical Type
The top five chemicals released in the Border area of
Texas in 2007, ranked by total on-site and off-site
releases, are as follows:
Chemical Name
Copper and copper
compounds
Selenium compounds
Lead and lead compounds
Hydrogen fluoride
Arsenic compounds
Total
Release
(pounds)
279,631
194,635
184,782
175,007
146,625
Percentage of
Total
Releases
19%
13%
12%
12%
10%
Facilities Releasing Largest Quantities of Chemicals
Ten facilities, listed in descending order, released the
largest total on-site and off-site releases in the Border
area of Texas:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Facility Name
Phelps Dodge
Copper Products
CO.
Western Refinery
U.S. Army Air
Defense Artillery
Center & Ft. Bliss
DAL-TILE El Paso
Manufacturing
Air System
Components LP
Trico Products
Corp
Tony Lama CO.
Copperfield LLC
GE Engine Services
McAllen LP
Pictsweet CO
Monte Alto
City
Name
El Paso
El Paso
El Paso
El Paso
El Paso
Cameron
El Paso
El Paso
Hidalgo
Hidalgo
Total Release
(pounds)
585671.16(33%
selenium
compounds)
319,980 (19% lead)
236,145 (55%
copper)
211,928 (82%
hydrogen fluoride)
33,757 (100%
glycol ethers)
18,635 (57% zinc
compounds)
14,601
(100% toulene)
13,354 (100%
antimony
compounds)
9,400 (55% nickel)
8,500 (100%
ammonia)
For national information on data releases, see:
http://www.epa.gov/tri
The TRI data is available through Envirofacts
Warehouse, EPA's internet site for distributing
environmental information at:
http://www.epa.gov/enviro
or the TRI Explorer tool:
http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer
U.S. EPA Region 6 Border Program
Claudia Ortega (915) 533-7233
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