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• In 2002, Tennessee industries released more than 156,000,000 pounds of TRI listed chemicals into the environment, including:

  • 96,834,545 pounds released into the air (62% of total releases)

  • 3,062,802 pounds released into surface waters

  • 1,672,387 pounds of PBT’s (Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins)

  • 9,362 grams of Dioxins (some of the deadliest known compounds)

• Not only does the 156,066,876 pounds of toxic chemicals released in 2002 make Tennessee the 9^th leading state in the country, but it’s actually more than the releases of California, New York, and New Jersey, combined!

• Tennessee was ranked 3^rd for Total Air releases, 4^th for Fugitive Air emissions, and 4^th for Point Source Air emissions.

• Tennessee industries released more total TRI chemicals than any bordering state, and lead the region in almost every category of releases. 

• 608 facilities in 80 counties (out of 95) across the state reported TRI releases.

TN County Release Table

• Once again, the two leading industries in Tennessee for toxic releases are the Chemical and Utilities industries.

• The Chemical Industry (SIC 28) led the state in Total TRI releases (47,798,807 lbs.) and Total water releases (726,397 lbs.), was 2^nd for Total Air releases (33,609,041 lbs.) and Total Onsite releases (15,013,609 lbs.), and was 3^rd for Total releases per facility (637,317 lbs. per facility).  The TN Chemical Industry reduced the amount of TRI chemicals it released by 298,360 pounds, or 1% from 2001-2002.

• The Utility Industry (SIC 49) led the state in Total Air releases, was 2^nd for Total TRI releases and Total TRI releases per facility, and was 3^rd for Total On-site releases.  The Utility Industry also increased the amount of TRI chemicals it released by 8,203,468 pounds over the previous year, which translates to a 23% increase in releases. 

Middle TN

• Middle TN counties had the highest Total TRI releases, at nearly 80,000,000 pounds. 

• Middle TN also had the highest Water releases (1,632,476 lbs.), Onsite releases (40,538,803 lbs.), and Offsite releases (2,704,545 lbs.).  Total Onsite releases accounted for more than half of the region’s Total TRI releases. 

• Overall, Middle TN reduced the amount of TRI chemicals released by more than 4,000,000 pounds, or 5%, from 2001-2002. 

• Middle TN reduced its TRI releases more than any other region in the state in terms of both total pounds and percentages.

East TN

• East TN counties had both the highest Total Air releases, at nearly 46,000,000 pounds, and the highest Air releases per facility, with slightly more than 185,000 pounds released per facility. 

• Air releases accounted for almost 83% of the region’s Total TRI releases. 

• East TN also has more TRI reporting facilities than any other region, and was the only region in the state that actually increased the amount of TRI releases.  From 2001-2002 East TN showed an increase of more than 3,000,000 pounds, or 5.8%. 

• East TN also had dramatically higher releases of mercury than the rest of the state (2,496 lbs for East TN versus 960 and 243 lbs for Middle and West TN, respectively). 

• East TN also showed a dramatic increase in mercury releases from 2001-2002 of 8,126 pounds or 201.6%.  Middle and West TN reduced their mercury releases by 28.9% and 31.1% respectively.

West TN

• West TN had the lowest TRI releases in the state for all categories.

• Total TRI releases were reduced by more than 450,000 pounds from 2001-2002, or 2.1%.

• West TN had 161 TRI reporting facilities, which is fewer than any other region (247 and 200 for East and Middle TN, respectively).

• West TN had the second highest mercury releases in the state (11,658 lbs.), almost all of which is accounted for by Offsite releases. 

• West TN had the highest Total TRI releases of mercury per facility, at nearly 1,300 pounds per facility.

• Air, Water, and Onsite releases of mercury were lower for the region than the rest of the state.

• West TN reduced mercury releases by 5,259 pounds from 2001-2002, a 31.1% decrease.  This is the highest reduction of mercury in the state.

• Between 2000 and 2001 releases of mercury compounds in Tennessee showed a dramatic spike of nearly 400%.

• Since 2001 releases of mercury compounds have steadily declined, however, releases of mercury compounds are still higher than they were in 2000.   

• Unfortunately, releases of elemental mercury, have also steadily increased over the same time period.

Tables

For a more in-depth look at Tennessee's toxic releases check out these tables:

• TN County releases (click on column headings to re-sort)

• Air Releases (top 50 chemicals)

• Water Releases (top 50 chemicals)

• Top Ten TN Facilities (1998-2002)

EPA TRI Links:  

• TRI Explorer – see what is being released in your state, county, or zip code

•  How Are the Toxics Release Inventory Data Used?

• TRI Brochure - "Factors to Consider When Using TRI Data" (PDF)

 

 

  *2002 was the most recent TRI data available at the time this report was compiled (07/05).  Because of the massive effort involved in compiling TRI data there is a considerable time gap between the release of a chemical and the release of the corresponding data to the public.  EPA has been working to decrease this amount of time by using electronic data submission, but there is still a 2 ½ - 3 year lag in publishing the TRI.