Wednesday, January 11, 2012

2010 Toxics Release Inventory

On January 6, 2012, IDEM released its analysis of Indiana's 2010 Toxics Release Inventory ("TRI"). The TRI tracks releases and transfers of regulated chemicals. TRI data is collected annually from industries that manufacture or process more than 25,000 pounds of a listed chemical or use more than 10,000 pounds of a listed chemical during the year.

IDEM's analysis shows an increase in the number of releases from the 2009 reporting year. On-site releases to land, water, and air increased 18% in reporting year 2010. IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly says that the 2010 TRI results differ from the "TRI data in recent years [that] indicate[d] that overall releases continue to trend downward, despite economic fluctuations.” Whether this is a sign that local manufacturing is increasing, that industries are not doing enough to limit their environmental releases, or that IDEM and industries are doing a better job tracking releases remains to be seen. One important takeaway is that industries' need for legal representation in complying with IDEM and EPA regulations is not going away.

For more information, please review EPA's TRI dataIDEM's summary information, and IDEM's press release.

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