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2005
Toxics Release Inventory
pRO-tt&N	March 2007
U.S. EPA Region 9
Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Nevada, the
Pacific Islands, and
Tribal Nations
Trends in Toxic Chemical Releases for 2003 - 2005*
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Nevada Report - March 2007
must comply with stringent requirements for liners,
leak detection systems, and groundwater monitoring.
Disposal in underground injection wells is regulated by
EPA's Underground Injection Control Program to
provide safeguards so that injection wells do not
endanger current and future underground sources of
drinking water.
Releases and Risk
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.
It is important to note that a release should not be
directly equated with risk. To evaluate risk, release
data must be combined with information about site-
specific conditions, exposure, and chemical toxicity.
TRI chemicals vary widely in toxicity. High volume
releases of less toxic chemicals may pose less
environmental risk than lower volume releases of
highly toxic chemicals. Increases in on-site releases at
permitted hazardous waste facilities may indicate a
reduction in risk.
Industries
A facility is subject to TRI reporting requirements if it:
has 10 or more full-time employees; is classified under
a reportable Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
code; and manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses
any of the listed toxic chemicals in amounts greater
than the threshold quantities. For most chemicals
(excluding Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic
(PBT) chemicals) the thresholds are 25,000 pounds for
manufactured or processed and 10,000 pounds for
otherwise used.
Manufacturing industries have been reporting their
releases since 1987, and federal facilities started
reporting in 1994. In 1998, an additional seven
industry sectors began reporting their toxic chemical
releases for the first time. These sectors are metal and
coal mining, electricity generation, commercial
hazardous waste treatment, solvent recovery,
petroleum bulk terminals, and wholesale chemical
distributors.
Page 2
Nevada's Releases
Nevada industries as a whole reported an increase,
from 2004 levels, total on-site and off-site releases
increased by 21% a 56.8 million pound gain. Leading
the trend was an increase of 56.6 million pounds in
reported releases to land, a 21% change. The majority
of the increases in on-site land disposal came from two
Newmont Mining gold mines, Twin Creeks Mine and
Carlin South Area Mine. Newmont Twin Creeks Mine
increased its on-site land releases by 31.9 million
pounds and Newmont Carlin South Area Mine
reported a 30.4 million pound increase.
Many mines extract, move, store, process, and dispose
of large amounts of waste rock and ore, materials
which often contain low concentrations of naturally
occurring metals. The vast majority of this material is
placed in surface impoundments or on the land, and the
metals are reported as on-site releases to land.
In the state of Nevada, metal mining and primary metal
facilities account for 96% of all on-site and off-site
releases and 97% of the on-site releases to land. Metal
mining and primary metal facilities showed a 24%
increase (59 million pounds) in land releases from
2004. Land releases from non-mining facilities
decreased 20% or 2.9 million pounds. This was due in
part to a 3.9 million pound decrease in releases from
U.S. Ecology, a permitted hazardous disposal facility.
Overall, the state's air releases increased 179 thousand
pounds or 10%. The rise in air releases can be
attributed primarily to two facilities: R.R. Donnelley
& Sons, a commercial printing facility and the Mohave
Generating Station, electric services facility. R.R.
Donnelley & Sons increased its air releases by 110
thousand pounds. The Mohave Generating Station
raised its air releases by 54 thousand pounds from last
year. Metal mining facilities saw a 1%, or 5 thousand
pound, decrease in air releases from reporting year
2004.
There was a 3 thousand pound or 2% increase in water
discharges. Newmont Mining Lone Tree Mine's gain
of 2,680 pounds was the main cause for the increase in
water releases. A large portion of this increase came
from an increase in nitrate compound discharges.
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Nevada Report - March 2007
The state experienced a minor increase in off-site
releases. Off-site releases increased by approximately
1%, or 12 thousand pounds. The main contributor to
the increase in off-site releases was, Tronox LLC, an
industrial inorganic chemicals facility. This facility
gained nearly 23 thousand pounds in off-site releases.
Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals
In the year 2000, TRI was expanded to include
additional Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT)
chemicals and to require reporting for these chemicals
at lower thresholds, ranging from 0.1 grams to 100
pounds. PBT pollutants are toxic chemicals that
persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in food
chains, posing risks to human health and ecosystems.
In Nevada, nearly 90 million pounds of total on-site
and off-site releases of PBT chemicals were reported.
There was a 18% (19.8 million pounds) decrease in
PBT releases. This change was driven by the decrease
in lead and lead compound releases.
Table of PBT Chemical Releases in Nevada
Releases of Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) chemicals in pounds.
Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds data not in Toxicity Equivalence (TEQ).
Page 3
In determining release quantities for metal compounds,
facilities only consider the primary metal portion of the
compound. For instance, a facility reporting for lead
compounds only reports the lead portion of the lead
compounds released. Hence, the table above gives
combined values for lead and lead compound releases
and mercury and mercury compound releases. The
PBT chemicals are ranked by 2005 total releases. The
data is in pounds for all chemicals except dioxin and
dioxin compounds, which is in grams.
Lead and Lead Compounds
Starting in the year 2001, lead and lead compounds
were reported as Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic
(PBT) chemicals. While lead and lead compounds
have been on the list of reportable chemicals since
1987, for the year 2001 the reporting threshold was
drastically lowered (from 25,000 pounds manufactured
or processed, and 10,000 pounds otherwise used to 100
pounds manufactured, processed or other wise used).
As a result, additional facilities are required to report
releases of lead and lead compounds.
Approximately 86.3 million pounds of total releases of
lead was reported in Nevada. Fifty-five percent of
these releases were land releases from silver ore metal
mining industries. The 19 million pound reduction in
lead was driven by a 37.6 million pound decrease of
land releases at one silver mine, Coeur Rochester Inc.
There was also a 3 thousand pound (32%) decrease in
lead air releases. The facility with the largest decrease
(1,910 pounds) in air releases was Coeur Rochester.
The U.S. Department of Energy Sandia National
Laboratories / Nevada, a government research facility,
had the second largest decrease in air releases (1,790
pounds). Sandia reported 0 pounds of lead released in
the air for 2005.
Mercury and Mercury Compounds
The reported 9% (370 thousand pounds) decrease in
mercury and mercury compounds was driven by
decreases of on-site land releases at two gold mines,
Barrick Goldstrike and Newmont Carlin South Area.
Barrick Goldstrike reported a 281 thousand pound

Total On- and Off-Site
Releases
Percent
Change
Chemical Name
2004
2005
Lead and
Lead Compounds
(in pounds)
105,780,859
86,381,236
- 18%
Mercury and
Mercury Compounds
(in pounds)
3,943,459
3,573,624
- 9.4%
Polychlorinated
Biphenyls (PCBs)
(in pounds)
26,917
10,970
- 59%
Hexachlorobenzene
(in pounds)
2,587
4,093
58%
Trifluralin
(in pounds)
3,212
3,252
1%
Chlordane
(in pounds)
399
493
24%
Polycyclic Aromatic
Compounds (PACs)
(in pounds)
175
200
14%
Heptachlor
(in pounds)
162
122
- 25%
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene
(in pounds)
1.18
1.38
17%
Dioxin and Dioxin-
like Compounds
(in grams)
9.84
10.36
5.3%
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Nevada Report - March 2007
reduction in on-site land mercury releases and
Newmont Carlin South Area reported a 126 thousand
pound decrease in on-site land mercury releases.
Mercury air releases decreased by 5% (246 pounds).
Two gold mines reported the largest decreases in
mercury air releases. Barrick Goldstrike reported a
504 pound decrease in mercury air releases and the
Cortez Gold Mines reported a 491 pound decrease in
mercury air releases.
Polvchlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Releases of PCBs decreased nearly 16 thousand
pounds from 2004. Nearly all of the PCB releases in
2005 were on-site land releases in a RCRA Subtitle C
Landfill at US Ecology Nevada Inc., in Beatty.
Facilities Releasing Largest Quantities of Chemicals
The top ten facilities in Nevada for total on-site and
off-site releases of all chemicals are:
1.	Newmont Mining Corp Twin Creeks Mine
(Golconda, Humboldt County) with 80.9 million
pounds.
2.	Newmont Mining Corp Carlin South Area (Carlin,
Eureka County) with 60.4 million pounds.
3.	Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc (Elko, Elko County)
with 49.1 million pounds.
4.	Coeur Rochester Inc (Lovelock, Pershing County)
with 47.7 million pounds.
5.	Newmont Mining Corp Lone Tree Mine (Valmy,
Humboldt County) with 26.5 million pounds.
6.	Robinson Nevada Mining Co (Ruth, White Pine
County) with 20.6 million pounds.
7.	Newmont Mining Corp Mule Canyon Mine (Battle
Mountain, Lander County) with 16.0 million
pounds.
8.	US Ecology Nevada Inc. (Beatty, Nye County)
with 7.3 million pounds.
9.	Cortez Gold Mines (Crescent Valley, Lander
County) with 3.1 million pounds.
10.	Jerritt Canyon Mine (Elko, Elko County) with 2.6
million pounds.
The top ten facilities in Nevada for total on-site and
off-site releases of PBT chemicals are:
1. Coeur Rochester Inc (Lovelock, Pershing County)
with 47.7 million pounds.
Page 4
2.	Robinson Nevada Mining Co (Ruth, White Pine
County) with 20.2 million pounds.
3.	Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc (Elko, Elko County)
with 7.7 million pounds.
4.	Newmont Mining Corp Carlin South Area (Carlin,
Eureka County) with 5.1 million pounds.
5.	Cortez Gold Mines (Crescent Valley, Lander
County) with 2.5 million pounds.
6.	Newmont Minning Corp Twin Creeks Mine
(Golconda, Humboldt County) with 2.3 million
pounds.
7.	Glamis Marigold Mine (Valmy, Humboldt County)
with 1.1 million pounds.
8.	Newmont Mining Corp Lone Tree Mine (Valmy,
Humboldt County) with 805 thousand pounds.
9.	Bald Mountain Mine (Elko, White Pine County)
with 716 thousand pounds.
10.	Smoky Valley Common Operation (Round
Mountain, Nye County) with 583 thousand pounds
On-line Access
For national information on data releases, see:
http://www.epa. gov/tri
The TRI data is available through 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 more information on the EPA's PBT Chemicals
Program, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pbt/
Information and Assistance
Region 9 staff will answer questions and assist you in
learning more about the TRI Program in Region 9.
U.S. EPA Region 9, TRI Program
Nancy Sockabasin, (415) 972-3772
Mariela Lopez, (415) 972-3771
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