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EPA issues South Dakota toxic chemical release report for 2000

Release Date: 5/23/2002
Contact Information:
EPA 303-312-6447,

Release Date: 5/23/2002
Contact Information:
EPA 800-227-8917
Denver – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued its annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report, which details the amounts of toxic chemicals released into the air, discharged into water, placed underground or on the land, and disposed of as waste by facilities across the country. The data made available today are for releases that took place in 2000.

“We encourage people to use data from the Toxics Release Inventory to gain a better understanding of the amounts and types of chemical releases in their States and neighborhoods,” said EPA Regional Administrator Robbie Roberts. “The TRI report also serves as a strong incentive for businesses to find innovative ways to prevent pollution.”

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986 required EPA to establish the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI is an on-line, computerized database that contains toxic chemical release information covering over 650 chemicals and chemical categories collected from reports submitted to EPA and the states by manufacturing companies, mines, electric utilities and Federal facilities. More than 23,000 facilities nationally provide details on their environmental releases. Included in the report is a ranking of U.S. states based on the amounts of toxic chemicals released into the environment within their borders. The database provides a comprehensive overview of toxic chemical releases in the U.S.

South Dakota ranked 44th nationwide in the amount of toxic chemicals released on site by the original industries (manufacturers and Federal facilities) in 2000, up from 45th in 1999. Total on-site releases of toxic chemicals by all industries in 2000 were 9,483,056 pounds, down 18 percent from 1999. The new industries accounted for 59 percent of the 2000 total. The new industry sectors include metal mining, coal mining, electrical utilities, RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities, chemical distributors, petroleum terminals, and solvent recovery services. On-site releases by the new industries in 2000 continued a downward trend started in 1999 due to the shutdown of a major metal mining facility. On-site releases by the original industries in 2000 were 3,900,268 pounds, up 14 percent from the 1999 level following a 7 percent increase in 1999 from 1998. (Please see the South Dakota 2000 TRI State Fact Sheet for more information.)

On-site releases of toxic chemicals in South Dakota (figures are in millions of pounds)

Manufacturing & Federal New Industries Reporting
Facilities (Original Industries) For The First Time in 1998

1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000

3.2 3.4 3.9 19.2 8.2 5.6

Information contained in the TRI is used by Federal, state and local governments, citizens and businesses to track the generation, release, fate and transport of various chemicals over time. Using this information, governments, businesses and citizens can work together to promote pollution prevention and to protect the quality of their land, air and water. Additionally, this knowledge can be an important tool in the development of environmental policies and to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental programs.

The 2000 TRI EPA national press release and press package are available online at https://www.epa.gov/tri. Additional background information on the TRI program and direct access to the TRI are available online at: https://www.epa.gov/triexplorer or https://www.epa.gov/enviro. For data-use assistance, contact the EPA Region 8 TRI Coordinator Joyel Dhieux at 303-312-6447 or via e-mail at dhieux.joyel@epa.gov. EPA also maintains a national technical hotline (800/535-0202) to help individuals and businesses understand TRI and the reporting requirements.