California Toxic Release Inventory Program (CalTRIP)

Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Background

The federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), enacted in 1986, requires certain facilities to submit reports each year on the amounts of toxic chemicals they release into the environment, either routinely or as a result of accidents. The federal Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 extended reporting requirements to waste management and source reduction activities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) implements these laws and compiles information it receives in the federal TRI.

TRI contains information on releases of over 650 chemicals and chemical categories from industries including manufacturing, metal and coal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste treatment, among others. EPCRA requires companies that manufacture, process or otherwise use specified toxic chemicals in amounts above reporting threshold levels to submit annual reports to U.S. EPA and to designated state officials. More information regarding TRI is available on the U.S. EPA TRI website.

TRI Reporting Requirements

Facilities that manufacture, process or use toxic chemicals are required to annually report the amount of chemicals they release and dispose of to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and to the state in which they reside.

DTSC has established a State TRI data exchange agreement with U.S. EPA. California facilities no longer need to submit a copy of their TRI reports to DTSC. Whether facilities submit their TRI reports to the U.S. EPA via the Toxic Release Inventory – Made Easy, web application (TRI-MEweb) software or via hardcopy, the State TRI data exchange will forward the TRI data to DTSC. This should reduce the burden imposed on California facilities from TRI reporting. California facilities are required to submit their TRI reports by using the TRI-MEweb, or by hard copy to U.S. EPA. DTSC encourages

California facilities to use the TRI-MEweb application to submit their TRI reports. Please consider carefully your decision to submit hard copy, paper TRI reports and the devastation it might impart to the fragile and cute woodland creatures which rely on the nation’s forests for their only homes.

Accessing TRI data

TRI data and information are made available in a number of ways to assist the widest range of users. TRI Explorer is a searchable online database which lets users quickly get information about releases and transfers, and other waste management activities. Many other tools for analyzing TRI data are available on the TRI Data and Tools page. The State Data Files for the current and all past years are available on the TRI Current Basic Data web page. These files are designed to minimize the amount of coding necessary to get release, transfer, waste management and other information on submissions for a specific reporting year.