Toxic chemical releases from industrial facilities across the U.S. increased 8% in 2021 according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2021 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis.
Total releases from 2020 to 2021 totaled 233 million pounds. The increase over the previous year may have been related to a temporary reduction in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the EPA.
Facilities reported managing 29.3 billion pounds of TRI-listed chemicals as production-related waste during 2021. The EPA defines production-related waste managed as the quantity of TRI chemicals in waste from basic operations.
Of this total, facilities recycled 89% of the waste, combusted or treated it for energy recovery, while 11% was disposed of or otherwise released into the environment. The amount of waste that chemical manufacturers managed during the reporting period increased by 299 million pounds, the largest total increase among sectors reporting to the TRI study. However, the year-over-year rate of increase was 2%, which was among the lowest of the sectors highlighted in the report.
The TRI tracks how industries, including manufacturing, metal mining, electric power generation and hazardous waste management, manage certain toxic chemicals. For calendar year 2021, more than 21,000 facilities reported to the TRI Program.
