EPA proposes to expand TRI chemicals greatly

In January, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Browner signed off on a proposed rule greatly expanding the list of toxic chemicals on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). This is the first step in making good on the administration's commitment to expand both the number of chemicals on the TRI and the number of facilities subject to this reporting requirement. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) contains a number of reporting and preparedness requirements applicable to certain industry sectors. The heart of EPCRA is Section 313, which requires manufacturing facilities with more than 10 employees to report information on toxic emissions annually to all environmental media during the previous calendar year. The reporting requirement applies if such facilities manufacture, import, process or otherwise use any one or more of the 320 listed chemicals.