Chemical Profiles
In this section, we take a closer look at some of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemicals of interest to the public, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lawmakers, and industry. These profiles include chemicals that are classified by the TRI Program as chemicals of special concern, such as chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBTs), and carcinogens (chemicals that cause cancer).
PBT chemicals are not only toxic, but they also break down slowly in the environment and tend to build up (bioaccumulate) in organisms throughout the food web. These organisms are food sources for other organisms, including humans, which are sensitive to the toxic effects of PBT chemicals. Reporting thresholds classified by the TRI Program as chemicals of special concern are either 10 pounds or 100 pounds, which is much lower than the reporting threshold for most TRI chemicals. For dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, the reporting threshold is even lower, at 0.1 gram. The chemicals of special concern covered in this section are lead and lead compounds, mercury and mercury compounds, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
You can generate a fact sheet for any TRI chemical using TRI Explorer.
This page was published in March 2024 and uses the 2022 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2023.