EPA Data Shows Release of Toxic Chemicals Down by 11.4 Million Pounds in Mid-Atlantic Region

PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 14, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its 2019 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, which shows that EPA and companies that manage chemicals continue to make progress in preventing pollution. The report shows that between 2018 and 2019, total releases of TRI chemicals decreased by 9 percent.

For the first time in five years, industrial and federal facilities reported an increased number of new source reduction activities that aim to reduce or eliminate the amount of chemical-containing waste facilities create. Facilities also avoided releasing 89 percent of the chemical-containing waste they created and managed during 2019 into the environment by using preferred practices such as recycling, treatment and energy recovery.

Since 2018, releases of TRI chemicals in EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region decreased by 8 percent (11.4 million pounds). Going back to 2007, releases have decreased by nearly 70 percent (270 million pounds) in the Region, compared to a 19 percent decrease nationally. This large decrease was driven by declining air releases, although releases to water, land and off-site disposal also decreased during this time. For 2019, 7 percent of facilities in the Mid-Atlantic Region reported implementing new source reduction activities. Source reduction reporting rates in the region were among the highest in the plastics/rubber manufacturing sector, where 14 percent of facilities reported source reduction activities.

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