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Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program
TRI Program Milestones
Learn how the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program originated and how it has expanded over the years.
For more information about the rulemakings listed below see the TRI Laws and Regulations webpage at
http://www.epa.gov/tri/lawsandregs/rulemakings.htm.
2010s
October 2011 - EPA Celebrates EPCRA 25th Anniversary: EPA celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act that created the TRI Program.
November 2010 - Final Rule Adds 16 National Toxicology Program Chemicals to TRI: A final rule added 16 new chemicals to the
TRI Program. Each chemical adds is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), an
interagency government program that works to evaluate public health concerns.
July 28, 2010 - Earliest-Ever Availability of TRI Data: For the first time, TRI
data are available to the public within the same month as the reporting
deadline, providing communities with earlier access to important toxic
chemical information.
June 2010 - First TRI Mobile Application, "myRTK", Launches: EPA's
first TRI mobile application, "myRTK", debuts, providing easier access to and
more context for TRI information.
2000s
December 2009 - EPA Publishes Earliest TRI National Analysis Report: For the first time, EPA publishes its TRI National Analysis
report in the same calendar year that the data are reported to EPA. The National Analysis includes documents and webpages that
provide analysis and interpretation of the most recent TRI data, including national and local trends of toxic chemical releases to the
environment.
June 2009 - TRI.NET Application Debuts: EPA releases the downloadable TRI.NET application to provide advanced mapping and
search capabilities to TRI data users.
April 2009 - 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act Restores TRI Reporting Requirements: The 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
restores the more comprehensive TRI reporting requirements that were in effect before the 2006 Burden Reduction Rule was finalized.

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January 2008 - TRI-MEweb Application Available to All Facilities: EPA released the TRI-MEweb reporting application, allowing all
facilities in every state to submit TRI data through the Internet. TRI-MEweb
has streamlined the reporting process for facilities and significantly improved
the quality of the submitted data.
May 2007 - EPA Finalizes Dioxin Toxic Equivalency Rule: A final rule
requires that facilities report the mass quantity for each individual member of
the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds category on a new reporting form, the
Form R Schedule 1. Using the more detailed dioxin data, EPA can calculate
toxic equivalent (TEQ) values to help people understand the relative toxicity
ofthe chemical release information found in TRI.
December 2006 - EPA Finalizes TRI Burden Reduction Rule: A final rule
expands eligibility for TRI reporters to use Form A, a simpler reporting form with less detailed information for qualified reporters, instead
ofthe more detailed Form R.
January 2001 - Final Rule Designates Lead and Lead Compounds as PBTs: A final rule designates lead and lead compounds as
Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic chemicals, lowering their TRI reporting thresholds to 100 pounds.
1990s
October 1999 - Final Rule Adds PBT Chemicals Added to TRI: A final rule adds seven Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT)
chemicals and two chemical categories to the TRI chemical list and lowers reporting thresholds for 18 PBTs already on the list. PBT
chemicals are of particular concern not only because they are toxic but also because they remain in the environment for long periods of
time, are not readily destroyed, and build up or accumulate in body tissue.
July 1998 - TRI Explorer Application Debuts: TRI Explorer is initially released as a downloadable application for accessing TRI
information. Later, TRI Explorer becomes interactive Web-based tool for generating a variety of customized of TRI data reports.
May 1997 - Final Rule Adds Seven Industry Sectors to TRI: Expansion ofthe TRI Program continues with a final rule that applies TRI
reporting requirements to metal and coal mining facilities, electric power
generators, commercial hazardous waste treatment operations, solvent
recovery facilities, petroleum bulk terminals and wholesale chemical
distributors.
November 1994 - Final Rule Adds Over 200 Chemicals to TRI: A final rule
expands TRI by 286 new chemicals and chemical categories, bringing the
number of chemicals reportable to TRI to over 600. This action greatly
increases the amount of publicly-available information on toxic chemical use
at facilities.
August 1993 - Executive Order 12856 Adds Federal Facilities to TRI: President Clinton signs an executive order to apply TRI
reporting requirements to all federal facilities regardless of industry sector starting in 1994.
Fall 1991 - EPA Considers Three-Phase Approach to Broadening Scope of TRI Program: EPA considers expanding the TRI
Program in three phases: adding chemicals, adding industry sectors and requiring the reporting of chemical use, or "materials
accounting" data,
November 1990 - Pollution Prevention Act Expands TRI Program: The Pollution Prevention Act fPPA) expands the scope of
information collected under the TRI Program to include data on how facilities manage toxic chemicals through recycling, energy recovery
and treatment processes.

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1980s
June 1989 - EPA Publishes First National TRI Report for Reporting Year 1987: EPA publishes "The Toxics Release Inventory: A
National Perspective," a report summarizing the first year of TRI data. Never before has the public had access to such comprehensive
toxic chemical release information.
July 1,1988 - First TRI Reporting Deadline for Reporting Year 1987 Data: Facilities that meet TRI reporting requirements are
required to submit TRI reports for calendar year 1987. More than 19,000 manufacturing facilities submit over 74,000 individual chemical
reports to EPA.
October 1986 - Passage of Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Creates TRI Program: In response to
growing concerns about local preparedness for chemical emergencies and the availability of information on hazardous substances,
Congress passes the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Section 313 of EPCRA creates the Toxics
Release Inventory to provide communities with information about toxic chemical releases from industrial facilities to the environment and
to support informed decision-making by industry, government, non-governmental organizations and the public.
August 1985 - Toxic Chemical Leak in Institute, West Virginia: A Union Carbide facility releases a cloud of methylene chloride and
aldicarb oxime, two toxic chemicals used in pesticide manufacturing. Six workers are injured and more than one hundred residents sent
to the hospital.
1984 - Toxic Chemical Disaster in Bhopal, India: On December 4, 1984, a
cloud of extremely toxic methyl isocyanate gas escapes from a Union
Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India. Thousands of people die that night in
what is widely considered to be the worst industrial disaster in history.
Thousands more died later as a result of their exposure and today survivors
continue to suffer with permanent disabilities.
Last updated on Friday, May 18, 2012

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