Water Releases by Chemical & Industry
Water Releases By Chemical
This pie chart shows the TRI-listed chemicals released into water bodies in the largest quantities during 2022.
Note: 1) In this chart, metals are combined with their metal compounds, although metals and compounds of the same metal are listed separately on the TRI list (e.g., manganese is listed separately from manganese compounds). 2) The nitrate compounds category in TRI includes only water dissociable nitrate compounds.
- Nitrate compounds accounted for 90% of the total quantity of TRI chemicals released to water in 2022. Nitrate compounds are commonly formed as part of facilities’ on-site wastewater treatment processes. The food manufacturing sector contributed 40% of total nitrate compound releases to water, largely due to the treatment required for biological materials in wastewater, such as from meat processing facilities.
- After nitrate compounds, manganese, methanol, and ammonia were released in the largest quantities, accounting for a combined 7% of the chemicals released into water.
Water Releases By Industry
This pie chart shows the TRI-covered industry sectors that reported the largest quantities of TRI water releases during 2022.
Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding.
- Facilities in the food manufacturing sector accounted for 37% of water releases for 2022 and approximately one-third of annual water releases over the past ten years.
- Nitrate compounds accounted for 99% of the total quantity of water releases from the food manufacturing sector.
This page was published in March 2024 and uses the 2022 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2023.