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2020 TRI Factsheet: State – Tennessee
Data Source: 2023 National Analysis Dataset (updated October 2024, released October 2024)

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is recycled, combusted for energy recovery, treated for destruction, and disposed of or otherwise released on- and off-site. This information is collectively referred to as production-related waste managed.


Map of TRI Facilities in Tennessee
Quick Facts for 2020
Tennessee United States
Number of TRI Facilities: 649 21,763
Total Production-Related Waste Managed: 408.9 million lbs 28.5 billion lbs
Total On-site and Off-site Disposal or Other Releases: 75.2 million lbs 3.1 billion lbs
Total On-site: 63.5 million lbs 2.7 billion lbs
Air: 20.8 million lbs 553.7 million lbs
Water: 2.7 million lbs 197.1 million lbs
Land: 39.8 million lbs 1.9 billion lbs
Total Off-Site: 11.6 million lbs 389.1 million lbs
Tennessee ranks 7 out of 56 states/territories nationwide based on total releases per square mile (Rank 1 = highest releases)

Looking at production-related waste managed over time helps track progress in reducing waste generated and moving toward safer waste management methods. EPA encourages facilities to first eliminate waste at its source (source reduction). For waste that is generated, the preferred management method is recycling, followed by energy recovery, treatment, and as a last resort, disposing of or otherwise releasing the waste. Under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, TRI collects information to track industry progress in reducing waste generation and moving towards safer waste management alternatives. Learn more about Pollution Prevention and TRI.


       

Source Reduction: View Facilities Reporting Newly Implemented Activities for TN

The following charts represent releases of TRI-covered chemicals to the environment in the State of Tennessee. A "release" of a chemical means that it is emitted to the air or water, placed in some type of land disposal, or transferred off-site for disposal or release.



Top Five Chemicals Released to Air and Water
TN, 2020
Note: **=Carcinogenic Chemical
Note: Trend graphs were created using the 2001 core chemicals/industries list.




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