Toxic Release Inventory

Fact Sheet for 2003                                                                     

The toxic release inventory TRI or

TRI information collection is federally mandated.  Facilities must report their releases of toxic chemicals to TRI on an annual basis.  Information is submitted by the facility to the state and United State's EPA.  As a result, there are two important aspects of TRI:  It aids local governments in preparation for response to chemical emergencies; and it guides the focus of IDEM's pollution prevention and technical assistance outreach efforts.  IDEM pollution prevention and technical assistance outreach efforts.  IDEM frequently uses TRI data to work with industries and suggest ways to reduce waste at the source, use less toxic alternatives, and identify opportunities to recycle and reuse materials. 

SARA 313 is a database of information about releases and transfers of toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities.  TRI's primary function is to inform communities, citizens, employees and CEO's of potential chemical releases and environmental waste generated by facilities in their community.

The determination of potential risk depends upon many factors, including the toxicity of the chemical, the fate of the chemical, and the amount and duration of human or other exposure to the chemical after it is releases.  It is important to remember it is not possible to ascertain levels of exposure or risk by using TRI data alone.  For addition information on using TRI data, please refer to EPA's brochure, Factors to Consider When Using TRI Data.

The data contained in this report reflects activities occurring in reporting year 2003  Facilities were required to submit data regarding their activities during 2003 by July1, 2004.  The following reflects the analysis of that data.

NOTE:  Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy in the TRI data.  However, the following report is a snapshot of toxic releases reported from companies at a specific point in time and therefore does not reflect any changes that have occurred since the information was compiled.  For this reason, IDEM cannot guarantee the accuracy of this report.

Search the TRI data on the web.

More than 1,000 Hoosier facilities report to TRI each year.

Facilities must file a TRI report if they :

  1)  Employ more than 10 employees
  2) Fall into a Standard Industrial Classification which require them to report.
  3) Manufacture, process or otherwise use a listed toxic chemical above established thresholds.

A total of 1022 individual facilities reported 183 different chemicals to Indiana's TRI for 2003.  This is down 50 facilities from 2002.  A total of 135.3 million pounds of toxic chemicals were reported released in Indiana in 2003.  This is up 1.1 million founds from 2002, less than a 1% increase. 

**Other Industries include: Bulk Terminal, Solvent Recovery Facilities and RCRA Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities.  Together, these other sources comprises about 1% of Indiana's total releases. 

Chemical Name           2003  Reported Releases

Hydrochloric Acid            27.5 million pounds

Nitrate Compounds          22.6 million pounds

Zinc Compounds              12.2 million pounds

Sulfuric Acid                     12.0 million pounds

Barium Compounds             7.1 million pounds

Styrene                            5.7 million pounds

Toluene                           4.1 million pounds

Xylene (Mixed Isomers)     3.4 million pounds

Hydrogen Fluoride             3.3 million pounds

Of the 183 chemicals reported, hydrochloric acid topped the list.  The most commonly reported chemicals are Lead (210 reports) and Lead Compounds (190 reports).

Half the chemicals reported in Indiana showed a decreases in releases from 2002 to 2003 including many in the top ten list.

The largest increases were seen in zinc compounds, hydrochloric acid, naphthalene, lead compounds, and phenanthrene.

TRI lists toxic chemicals being released to three main media: air, water and land.  In Indiana during 2003 55% of the releases were to air, 17% were to water and 28% to land. 

Known and potential carcinogenic releases for 2003 were 15.6 million pounds.

2003 Rank       County          Reported Releases  # of Facilities

17th                  Allen            1,987,702               56

22nd                  Adams          1,221,695             12

79th                   Decatur          15,128                 6

19th                    Dekalb         144,895                28

54th                   Lagrange         106,250              28

12th                     Marion        3,118,631              94

END REPORT

This information has been typed in by Save Maumee because it is difficult to find online and has moved its website again.  We always encourage you to do your own research.....make sure you have a hard copy....bad news travels fast and disappears often.