WASHINGTON—Releases of toxic chemicals into the air fell 56 percent between 2005 and 2015, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2015 Toxics Release Inventory National Analysis.
Released Jan. 12, the annual report contains information from nearly 22,000 industrial facilities submitting data to the TRI program, the EPA said.
Between 2014 and 2015, the toxic emissions decline averaged 8 percent among facilities covered under the TRI, according to the agency. Emissions of hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid alone were cut by more than 566 million pounds, it said.
Of the 26 billion pounds of total chemical waste managed at TRI-covered industrial facilities in 2015, approximately 92 percent were not released into the environment, the EPA said.
Preferred waste management practices—including recycling, energy recovery and treatment—were responsible for this, it said.
Copies of the 2015 TRI National Analysis may be downloaded free of charge from www.epa.gov.