Overview
Texas is one of the perennial leaders in the total volume of on- and off-site releases of industrial toxic wastes reported to the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). It consistently led the nation in the volume of industrial toxic air emissions during the period 1988 to 1998 and is currently among the top three states for total releases and air emissions. The report provides annual data from the TRI on toxic air emissions that occurred in 155 Texas counties. It identifies demographic groups in these counties who may be potentially vulnerable to health impacts caused by exposure to these emissions. Finally, it provides estimates of the toxicities of individual TRI chemicals present in county-level emissions and presents a calculated aggregate toxicity score for each county. Toxicity weights were derived from the Chronic Human Health Indicator (CHHI) methodology developed by the EPA.s Office of Pollution and Prevention (OPPT). Counties with the most severe toxicities are located near predominately heavily populated metropolitan statistical areas. Four groups of counties were classified as: (1) high emission volume and high toxicity (n1 = 6); (2) low emission volume and high toxicity (n2 = 87); (3) high emission volume and low toxicity (n3 = 16); and (4) low emission volume and low toxicity (n4 = 41); 104 counties were excluded because they either had no emissions (n = 99) or had incomplete toxicity data (n = 6). Toxicity scores were poorly correlated with emission volume and total volume of all types of releases; they were positively correlated with only the number (not the proportion) of elderly men and women in county populations. The number and proportion of infants in county populations was insignificantly associated with volumes of emissions and releases.
Overview
This report describes the progress that has occurred in the management of toxic chemical wastes by Texas manufacturers who reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in 1998 and during the period from 1988 to 1998. Data were obtained from the 1999 TRI, which was recently released by the Environmental Protection Agency. Texas has been and is a leading source of toxic chemical wastes in the nation. The state had 134 counties with 1,151 facilities that reported on- and off-site releases of 329.1 million pounds and off-site transfers of 357.7 million pounds of toxic chemicals in 1998. The status of these releases and transfers are summarized by industry, county, and selected toxic chemicals. The report also describes release and transfer trends from 1988 to 1998 for a standardized group of toxic chemicals reported to the TRI. It includes densities of chemical releases based on size of population and county area. Charts and other graphics are used to supplement tabular data. Appendices provide county-level data on the volumes of releases and transfers. The report is intended to inform business, government, academia, and the general public about industrial releases of toxic chemicals in Texas.
Overview
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is annually prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency. It reports the volume of toxic chemical wastes released and transferred off-site by manufacturing facilities in Texas and elsewhere in the nation. The purpose of this document is to describe the progress that has occurred in the management of toxic chemical wastes among Texas manufacturers who report to the TRI. In 1994, 1,215 manufacturers in 138 counties released 250.1 million pounds and transferred off-site 273.3 million pounds of toxic chemical wastes. This document overviews the status of these releases and transfers statewide by county, industry, and toxic waste chemical. It also describes release and transfer trends from 1988 to 1994 for a standardized group of toxic chemicals.
The following is a list of other TRI internet sites:
- TNRCC's TRI Homepage - TRI information for Texas
- EPA TRI Homepage - download TRI metadata
- EPA Envirofacts Warehouse-TRI Homepage - query and graph TRI data
Send comments and suggestions to John K. Thomas, Ph.D. (jkthomas@tamu.edu).