Perspectives on the TRI

In recognition of the 35th anniversary of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), data users and legislators reflect on the importance of the TRI.

• "TRI is the cornerstone of the open transmission of environmental information in the United States. . . . It remains a gem among EPA’s numerous programs." — Dr. Mark Stephan, co-author of Coming Clean: Information Disclosure and Environmental Performance
• "In many ways the Toxics Release Inventory has long been one of the crown jewels of federal databases. It has a wealth of data that is simply not available anywhere else, and it serves the interests of scholars and professionals, while also providing essential information to citizens who need to know about toxic chemical releases in their communities." – Dr. Michael Kraft, co-author of Coming Clean: Information Disclosure and Environmental Performance
• "Having to report and . . . keep a closer eye on the chemicals and the processes that we use offers an insight so that we can look at the bigger picture and plan ahead to make reductions." — Bette Danielson, Former Safety and Environmental Affairs Manager at Nordic Ware
• "You need to be able to identify the problem, to measure the problem. . . . and once you have that information, then you can do things to improve the situation. The TRI gave our environment committee a good tool to look every year…really drill down on what we wanted to change." — Wendy Menken, Former President of the Southeast Como Improvement Association, Minneapolis
• "TRI helped transform how we think about data, from single media to integrated multimedia, from information for our use to a resource for the public, from a research source to a tool for promoting risk reduction." — Mike Shapiro, Former EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water
• "TRI provided a great start for understanding the environmental layout of our community." — Dr. Erica Holloman, Former Coordinator of Southeast CARE Coalition
• "Informed about toxic chemicals, citizens can play an important role in helping their communities achieve tangible results in protecting public health and the environment." — William K. Reilly, Former EPA Administrator
• "The TRI offers many lessons: Information provision works. Ideas and policy innovations spread. Regulators and the regulated learn over time." — Dr. James T. Hamilton, author of Revelation through Regulation
• "The TRI Program provides a critical tool for informing and empowering communities to hold polluters accountable. I applaud EPA’s efforts to adapt TRI to technological advances and make the TRI data as accessible as possible." — U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr.
• "The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know-Act has exceeded expectations in driving down the use and release of toxic chemicals. This law created EPA’s TRI Program and has given concerned citizens, researchers, and others access to information . . . While it was a new approach in 1986, today more than fifty countries have established their own registries, using the TRI as a model. These . . . have allowed companies to learn best practices from each other and—simply by shining a spotlight on releases of toxic chemicals—have led to dramatic reductions." — Former U.S. Senator Tom Udall
• "When TRI became a reality, our communities and our citizens gained a powerful new tool for defending their health, their environment, and the health of their children. Serving the public’s right to know, ensuring that our data are based on the best science and full transparency, and making sure that they are as accessible as possible are critical to everything we do at the EPA. That is why TRI is an indispensable part of fulfilling our mission to protect the health of the American people." — Lisa P. Jackson, Former EPA Administrator
• "The TRI is a fantastic resource for teaching and research across the disciplines of operations, economics, and management. . . . Its near-universal coverage of U.S. manufacturing facilities allows any researcher to build a representative sample of facilities…[T]he wide range of waste treatment activities, as well as the high quality of data, allowed us to examine both the choices made to reduce waste and their outcomes in the same time period. The TRI data enabled us to understand how facilities can reduce waste based on which types of treatments they chose." — Dr. Nilanjana Dutt, Bocconi University, Italy
• "With TRI, EPA has, since 1987, produced a high-quality, right-to-know pollutant release and transfer register of substantial value to the public in pursuing a clean and safe environment." — Dr. Michael Ash, Co-Director of the Corporate Toxics Information Project at University of Massachusetts Amherst
• "TRI is . . . instrumental in understanding environmental risks and promoting environmental justice and industry accountability." — Lisa Jordan, former TRI University Challenge partner
• "People deserve to know what toxic chemicals are being used and released in their backyards, and what companies are doing to prevent pollution. By making that information easily accessible through online tools, maps, and reports, the TRI Program is helping protect our health and environment." — Gina McCarthy, Former EPA Administrator