California Toxics Release Inventory Fact Sheet
May 2002


California Report:
2000 Toxics
Release Inventory
U.S. EPA Region 9
Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Nevada,
and the Pacific
Islands
Toxic Chemical Releases: 1998-2000
Total On- and Off-Site Releases
g 75,000,000 ¦
3
£ 70,000,000
w
| 65,000,000 ¦
_0)
60,000,000 •
55,000,000
75,005,151 75,609,346
67,374,903
1998	1999	2000	2000
(no PBTs) (no PBTs) (no PBTs) (includina PBTs)
Reporting Year
On-Site Air Releases
35,000,000 •
30,000,000 •
25,000,000 ¦
20,000,000 •
15,000,000 •
10,000,000 •
5,000,000 ¦
0 •
23,828,728 23,838,745
1998
(no PBTs)
1999	2000
(no PBTs) (no PBTs)
Reporting Year
2000
(including PBTs)
On-Site Water Releases
8,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000 -
2,000,000 -
1,000,000 -
0
6,090,868
6,094,176
4,848,876
1998	1999	2000	2000
(no PBTs) (no PBTs) (no PBTs) (including PBTs)
Reporting Year
On-Site Land Releases
40,000,000 ¦
35,000,000 -
30,000,000 ¦
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
0 ¦
33,941,558 34,411,538
(no PBTs)
1999	2000
(no PBTs) (no PBTs)
Reporting Year
2000
(includina PBTs)
Note: In order to allow a direct comparison of1998, 1999 and 2000 releases, the data must be controlled for changes in the
list of reportable chemicals—namely, lower thresholds for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals. A table
detailing the 2000 PBT releases is provided in a following section of this fact sheet
The 2000 Public Data Release
EPA has just made public the 2000 data on toxic
chemicals that were released to California's air, water
and land. This information comes from the Toxics
Release Inventory (TRI), a federal community right-to-
know program. In California, 1442 facilities reported a
total of 75.6 million pounds of toxic chemical releases*.
It is important to note that release 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 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.
Industries
Manufacturing industries have been reporting their
releases since 1987 and federal facilities started
reporting in 1994. In 1998, seven new industry sectors
began reporting their toxic chemical releases for the
first time. These new sectors are metal and coal
mining, electricity generation, commercial hazardous
waste treatment, solvent recovery, petroleum bulk
* 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. When comparing data from year to year,
the data is normalized to account for changes in the list of reportable chemicals and other variables.

-------
California Toxics Release Inventory Fact Sheet
terminals, and wholesale chemical distributors.
Releases
California's total reported on- and off-site releases
increased 15% when compared to 1999 data. Leading
the trend was an increase of 8.6 million pounds in
reported on-site land disposal, a 34% change. This is
due primarily to an increase in waste from toxic cleanup
projects (such as the LA Harbor cleanup) disposed at
the Chemical Waste Management Inc. facility in
Kettleman City.
Also contributing to the state trend was a reported
increase in transfers off-site for disposal, up 29% from
the previous year. This was due in large part to
increased waste handling at DK Environmental in
Vernon, increased production at a variety of
manufacturing facilities, and closing of on-site landfills at
some manufacturing facilities.
Reported releases to the water also increased, by 26%
from 1999 levels, to 6.1 million pounds. Much of the
change was due to increased discharges at the Samoa
Pulp Mill in Humboldt County and the Equilon Refinery
in Martinez.
Reported emissions to air have decreased by 9%. Much
of this decrease is attributable to additional pollution
control measures taken at the ExxonMobil Oil Torrance
Refinery, and the closing of Quebecor Printing in San
Jose.
New Data-Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic
Chemicals
For the year 2000, TRI was expanded to include
additional persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT)
chemicals, and required reporting for these chemicals at
lower thresholds. PBT pollutants are chemicals that are
toxic, persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in
food chains, posing risks to human health and
ecosystems.
Seven new chemicals and 2 chemical categories were
added to the reporting list of over 650 chemicals.
Additionally, reporting thresholds for 18 chemicals and
chemical categories have been lowered; new thresholds
range from 0.1 grams to 100 pounds.
In California, 111,437 pounds of total on- and off-site
releases of PBT chemicals were reported.
May 2002
Table of PBT Releases in California
Chemical
Air
Water
Land
Off-Site
Disposal
Total On-
and Off-
Site
Mercury Compounds
4,700.20
5.14
37,884.91
6,914.24
49,504.70
Polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs)
0.57
0.00
27,915.00
80.00
27,995.57
Polycyclic aromatic
compounds (PACs)
1,311.04
2,171.51
5,886.70
566.65
19,935.89
Mercury
898.09
0.00
10,327.71
44.71
11,270.51
Trifluralin
78.00
0.00
706.00
375.00
1,159.00
Hexachlorobenzene
2.51
0.01
610.00
0.00
612.52
Tetrabromobisphenol
A
156.00
0.00
0.00
399.00
555.00
Toxaphene
0.00
0.00
200.02
0.00
200.02
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene
51.91
14.20
34.36
40.09
140.56
Chlordane
0.00
0.00
31.74
0.00
31.74
Heptachlor
0.00
0.00
30.56
0.00
30.56
Pendimethalin
1.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.00
Dioxin and dioxin-like
compounds (in
grams)
34.578
4.075
9.000
27.208
74.861
Releases of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals.
Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds data in grams, not in TEQ.
Mercury and Mercury Compounds
Much of the mercury and mercury compounds
reported was released to land by mining facilities.
Hazardous waste management facilities reported a
significant amount disposed on-site or transferred off-
site for disposal. The largest share of air emissions,
over 4,000 pounds, came from the portland cement
manufacturing sector. Petroleum refineries reported
approximately 750 pounds of mercury and mercury
compounds to the air.
PCBs and PACs
Most of the reported PCBs were disposed of in an on-
site hazardous waste landfill at Chemical Waste
Management Inc. in Kettleman City. Refineries and
commercial hazardous waste treatment facilities
reported releasing the most polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons.
Dioxin
For dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, much of the
reported releases are attributable to the cement
manufacturing, electricity generation, and petroleum
refining industries.

-------
California Toxics Release Inventory Fact Sheet
Top Facilities for Releases
The top 10 facilities for on- and off-site releases in
California are:
1: Chemical Waste Management (Kettleman City, Kings
County) with 23.3 million pounds
2: Onyx Environmental Services (Azusa, Los Angeles
County) with 5.3 million pounds
3: DK Environmental Inc. (Vernon, Los Angeles
County) with 4.6 million pounds
4: Safety-Kleen (Buttonwillow, Kern County) with 3.3
million pounds
5: McLaughlin Mine (Lower Lake, Lake County) with
2.6 million pounds
6: Chevron USA Prods. Co. (El Segundo, Los Angeles
County) with 2.6 million pounds
7: Samoa Pacific Cellulose L.L.C. Samoa Pulp Mill
(Samoa, Humboldt County) with 2.1 million pounds
8: U.S. Filter Recovery Services (CA) Inc. (Vernon, Los
Angeles County) with 1.5 million pounds
9: Chevron Products Co. Richmond Refinery
(Richmond, Contra Costa County) with 1.5 million
pounds
10: Hilmar Cheese Co. Inc. (Hilmar, Merced County)
with 1.5 million pounds
May 2002
On-line Access
For national information on data release, see
http://www.epa. gov/tri
The TRI data is available through the Envirofacts
Warehouse, EPA's premier Internet site for
distributing environmental information at
http://www.epa. gov/enviro
or the TRI Explorer tool:
http://www.epa. gov/triexplorer
For general information on the Toxics Release
Inventory, including reporting requirements for
businesses, go to http://www.epa. gov/region09/toxic/tri
For additional information on Dioxin , go to
www.epa. gov/ncea/dioxin.htm
For more information on the EPA's PBT Chemicals
Program:
http://www.epa. gov/opptintr/pbt/
Information and Assistance
We will be more than happy to answer your questions
and assist you in learning more about the Toxics
Release Inventory program in Region 9.
U.S. EPA Region 9 TRI Coordinator
Adam Browning, (415) 947-4178

-------