The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released analysis of the annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2020. The inventory catalogs required reports on the movement of chemicals that may be harmful to human health if handled improperly, but the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation states that it does not differentiate between permitted, regulated releases and illegal, unauthorized releases.
Jason Brune, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation said:
“By not specifying the manner of release year after year, the TRI fuels public misperception and undermines the critical work regulators do to ensure permitted releases are protective of public health and the environment. Because the TRI report does not distinguish between authorized and regulated releases and unauthorized discharges, it does little to convey actual risk to the public.”
The TRI program collects information on certain releases to air, water, and land as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention by facilities across the country. Facilities in industry sectors such as manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste facilities submit annual data to the EPA, states, and tribes. Toxic chemical release reports are required under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 also requires information on waste management activities related to TRI chemicals.
Most of the Alaska reports are from the mining industry, and 99.95% of those reported volumes are permitted and regulated – moving waste rock to regulated treatment or waste storage areas. The ADEC says that mining operations must file reports because of the naturally occurring trace minerals in overburden, spent rock, and tailings excavated from mines when these materials are transferred to state-permitted, engineered, and monitored sites.