Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) was enacted in the United States in 1986, with the objectives of (1) assisting state and local planning for chemical emergencies, (2) providing for notification of emergency releases of chemicals, and (3) addressing communities’ right-to-know about toxic and hazardous chemicals. EPCRA Section 313 requires EPA and the States to collect data annually on releases and transfers of certain toxic chemicals from industrial facilities, and to make the data available to the public through the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI database contains data on disposal or other releases of over 650 toxic chemicals from thousands of U.S. facilities, and information about how facilities manage those chemicals through recycling, energy recovery, and treatment.

A facility must report to TRI if it (1) is in a specific industrial sector, (2) employs 10 or more full-time equivalent employees, and (3) manufactures or processes >25,000 lbs. of a TRI-listed chemical or otherwise uses >10,000 lbs. of a listed chemical in a given year. If a facility meets these criteria, it must submit to EPA a TRI Form R (long form) or Form A (short form) for each TRI-listed chemical it manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses in quantities above the reporting threshold. It must also submit the forms to the State in which the facility is located. July 1 is the deadline for submission of TRI forms for toxic chemical disposal or other releases that occurred during the previous calendar year.

NCASI updates its Handbook of Chemical-Specific Information for SARA Section 313 Form R Reporting every year to assist member companies in meeting their annual reporting obligations under EPCRA Section 313 (Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, also known as SARA). The SARA Handbook provides regulatory background information and detailed chemical-specific information for chemicals that may be found in pulp and paper mills, recycling and non-integrated mills. and wood products manufacturing facilities.