EJScreen Indicators Overview – Toxic Releases to Air
What is the toxic releases to air indicator?
The “toxic releases to air indicator” measures the average annual chemical concentrations in air weighted by the toxicity of each chemical. EJScreen presents these weighted concentrations using percentile rank, ranging from 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest) with higher scores representing higher weighted concentrations.
Why are these specific toxic releases important?
- A “release” of a toxic chemical in this context means that it is emitted by a regulated facility into the air. Facilities that report to the EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program are typically larger in size and involved in manufacturing, metal mining, electric power generation, chemical manufacturing, and hazardous waste treatment.
- In general, chemicals covered by the TRI Program are those that cause cancer or other chronic human health effects, cause significant adverse acute human health effects, are reactive, ignitable, or can cause significant adverse environmental effects.
How does EJScreen create the toxic releases to air indicator?
- EJScreen quantifies the relative potential human health impacts of certain toxic chemicals on the list established under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) based on the quantities released to air by facilities.
- Source data are derived from the EPA Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model, which primarily relies on data submitted by regulated facilities to the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program and can be accessed through the RSEI Geographic Microdata Modeled toxicity-weighted concentrations produced by RSEI are then aggregated to census block groups.
- For technical details on the calculations and source data, visit the EJScreen Technical Documentation.
Moving Forward – What You Can Do
- Stay informed on the latest relevant information and resources on the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory
- Learn more about TRI and estimating potential risk from chemical releases.
- Find out about specific facilities, chemicals, and geographic areas and how to access TRI data. The EPA’s TRI for Communities page provides resources for how communities can utilize TRI to learn about toxic chemicals that industrial facilities are using and releasing into the environment, and whether those facilities are doing anything to prevent pollution.
- Use the EPA TRI Toxics Tracker to map and learn about nearby facilities releasing toxic chemicals.
- Search for facilities in your community to assess their compliance with the Clean Air Act and other environmental regulations on the EPA Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)
- Visit the EPA’s AirToxScreen to learn which air toxics may be of concern to you, to better understand the risks from air toxics exposures, and how to open a dialogue with your local air agency about air quality in your area. The EPA Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model can also help provide important information about potential health-related impacts of toxic chemical releases from facilities in your community that report to the TRI. Learn more here.