Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting is the EPA program that requires certain industrial facilities to report each year how much of a listed toxic chemical they released to the environment or managed as waste. Required by Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and implemented at 40 CFR Part 372, TRI reports are due to EPA and the state by July 1 for the previous calendar year, and EPA makes the data public.
TRI gives communities, investors and regulators a view of chemical releases, recycling, treatment and pollution prevention at nearby facilities. For the reporting facility, it is an annual data project that depends on accurate chemical use and waste records.
What Is TRI Reporting?
EPCRA Section 313 was enacted in 1986. EPA's regulations at 40 CFR Part 372 define which facilities must report, the chemicals covered, the thresholds that trigger reporting and the forms used. EPA's TRI program page has guidance and reporting tools.
The TRI list covers about 800 substances, including individually listed chemicals and chemical categories, with the lists at 40 CFR 372.65. A small set of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals, called chemicals of special concern, have much lower thresholds. EPA has also added close to 200 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list in recent years.
Who Must Report?
Under 372.22, a facility must report for a calendar year if it meets all three criteria:
- Employees: It has 10 or more full-time employee equivalents. EPA guidance equates this to 20,000 total hours worked per year, including paid holidays, vacation and sick leave, and including full-time, part-time and contract staff.
- Industry: It is in a covered industry listed in 40 CFR 372.23, such as manufacturing (NAICS 31 to 33), certain mining, electric utilities, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, chemical and petroleum wholesale distribution, petroleum bulk terminals and certain publishing operations. Federal facilities must also report.
- Chemical activity: It manufactured (including imported), processed or otherwise used a TRI-listed chemical above the applicable threshold during the year.
Reporting Thresholds
Standard thresholds
Under 372.25, the thresholds for most listed chemicals are:
- 25,000 pounds per year manufactured (including imported)
- 25,000 pounds per year processed
- 10,000 pounds per year otherwise used
Each threshold is applied separately. If any one is exceeded, the facility reports on all of its activities involving that chemical. For chemical categories, the combined amount of all members of the category is compared to the threshold.
Chemicals of special concern
Under 372.28, PBT chemicals have lower thresholds that apply to each activity:
- 10 pounds: chemicals such as mercury, mercury compounds, PCBs, chlordane, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, toxaphene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene
- 100 pounds: chemicals such as lead, lead compounds, polycyclic aromatic compounds, aldrin, methoxychlor, pendimethalin, tetrabromobisphenol A, trifluralin, hexabromocyclododecane and listed PFAS
- 0.1 gram: dioxin and dioxin-like compounds
The lead threshold does not apply to lead contained in stainless steel, brass or bronze alloys, which follows the standard thresholds.
Form R and Form A
Form R
Form R is the full report filed for each chemical that exceeds a threshold. It covers on-site releases to air, water and land, off-site transfers, and quantities recycled, burned for energy recovery and treated, along with source reduction activities. Facilities with dioxin and dioxin-like compounds also file Form R Schedule 1.
Form A certification
Under 372.27, a facility may file a shorter certification statement, known as Form A, instead of Form R for a chemical if:
- The annual reportable amount of the chemical, meaning the combined total released, disposed of, treated, recycled and burned for energy recovery on site and off site, does not exceed 500 pounds, and
- The facility did not manufacture, process or otherwise use more than 1,000,000 pounds of the chemical
Form A is not available for chemicals of special concern listed in 372.28, including PFAS.
Exemptions
Section 372.38 allows facilities to exclude certain quantities when calculating thresholds and releases:
- De minimis: a chemical present in a mixture at less than 1 percent, or less than 0.1 percent for carcinogens. This exemption does not apply to chemicals of special concern, so it is not available for PFAS, lead, mercury and the other chemicals in 372.28.
- Articles: chemicals in manufactured items that are not released during normal processing or use at the facility
- Certain uses: chemicals in structural components of the facility, janitorial and grounds maintenance products similar to consumer products, personal use items, products used to maintain facility motor vehicles, and process water, cooling water and compressed or combustion air drawn from the environment or municipal sources
- Laboratory activities: chemicals used in a laboratory under the supervision of a technically qualified individual, except for specialty chemical production, pilot plants and activities outside the laboratory
Deadline and Recordkeeping
Under 372.30 and 372.27, Form R reports and Form A certifications for a calendar year are due on or before July 1 of the following year. They go to EPA and to the state, or for facilities in Indian country, to EPA and the official designated by the tribe.
Under 372.10, facilities must keep a copy of each report and the supporting documentation for 3 years from the date of submission. Supporting records include facility coverage determinations, claimed exemptions, threshold calculations, release and transfer estimates, waste manifests and receipts, and treatment efficiency data. Records must be kept at the facility and be readily available for EPA inspection.
Suppliers of mixtures and trade name products containing listed chemicals to covered facilities also have supplier notification duties under 372.45, which is how many facilities learn the TRI chemical content of products they buy. Safety data sheets are another key source of composition data.
Penalties and Enforcement
EPA enforces TRI under EPCRA Section 325. Under the inflation-adjusted amounts in 40 CFR 19.4, the maximum civil penalty for a Section 313 violation is $71,545 per violation, and each day a violation continues is a separate violation. Late reports, missed chemicals and threshold miscalculations are common enforcement findings. TRI is separate from Tier II inventory reporting, covered on the EPCRA Tier II reporting page, and a facility may need to file both.
How to Comply: Step by Step
- Confirm coverage. Check your NAICS code against 372.23 and count employee hours for the year.
- Inventory chemicals. Gather purchase, production and SDS data for all materials, including mixtures and trade name products.
- Identify TRI chemicals. Compare components to the current TRI list, paying close attention to PFAS and other chemicals of special concern.
- Calculate thresholds. Total each chemical by activity, apply allowed exemptions, and compare to the thresholds.
- Estimate releases and waste management. Use monitoring data, mass balance, emission factors or engineering estimates for each pathway.
- Choose the form. File Form R, or Form A where the chemical qualifies.
- Submit by July 1. Send reports to EPA and the state or tribe.
- Keep records. Retain the reports and all supporting calculations for 3 years.
How SMS360 Helps
Accurate TRI reports start with knowing what chemicals are on site and what they contain. SMS360's Safety Data Sheets module gives teams a central, current SDS library organized by location, making it easier to find composition data for threshold calculations and to spot TRI-listed components such as PFAS. Teams can set reminders for the July 1 deadline, assign data collection tasks and store submitted reports with supporting records for the 3-year retention period. The same library supports hazard communication and Tier II reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are TRI reports due?
TRI reports are due on or before July 1 each year and cover chemical activities during the previous calendar year. Reports go to EPA and the state, or to EPA and the designated tribal official for facilities in Indian country.
What are the TRI reporting thresholds?
For most chemicals, the thresholds are 25,000 pounds manufactured or processed and 10,000 pounds otherwise used per year. Chemicals of special concern have lower thresholds of 100 pounds, 10 pounds or, for dioxins, 0.1 gram.
What is the difference between Form R and Form A?
Form R is the full report of releases and waste management. Form A is a shorter certification available when the annual reportable amount of a chemical is 500 pounds or less and the facility handled no more than 1 million pounds of it. Form A cannot be used for chemicals of special concern.
Do PFAS have to be reported to TRI?
Yes, listed PFAS are TRI chemicals with a 100-pound reporting threshold. They are chemicals of special concern, so the de minimis exemption and Form A are not available, which means PFAS in purchased mixtures count toward thresholds even at low concentrations.
