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Measuring Progress 2001-2005: The National Priority Chemicals Trends Report

Tracking Progress Toward GPRA Goals | Trends in Priority Chemical Reductions | Trends in Management Methods | Report Highlights | Trends Report | Priority Chemical Query Tool

EPA's National Priority Chemicals Trends Report evaluates and analyzes the trends for quantities and management of 24 of the 31 Priority Chemicals (PCs) that industrial and federal government facilities reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for reporting years 2001 through 2005. TRI is a publicly available database with information on the use, release, and management of more than 650 toxic chemicals at industrial and federal facilities. PCs are chemicals that are persistent, highly toxic, and can accumulate in living organisms.

The Trends Report is used for:

  1. showing progress toward achieving EPA's Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) national goal to reduce PCs in waste, and
  2. identifying opportunities to reduce these PCs in concert with the objectives of the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), including assisting EPA in identifying potential partners for the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP).

Tracking Progress Toward the GPRA Goal to Reduce PCs

We use this Report to show progress made in achieving EPA’s Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) national goal to reduce PCs in wastes.  Our current five year GPRA goal is to: By 2011, reduce 4 million pounds of priority chemicals from waste streams as measured by National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) contributions, Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs), and other tools used by EPA to achieve priority chemical reductions.  We measure this goal through the achievements of National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) partners. Visit our NPEP Partner Status Boards to view our progress in achieving this goal.

Priority Chemical FY 2004 Reductions Achieved (pounds) FY 2005 Reductions Achieved (pounds) FY 2006 Reductions Achieved (pounds) FY 2007 Reductions Achieved(pounds) Total (pounds) FY2004- 2007 Percent of Total FY2004- 2007
Lead and lead compounds 37,527 822,564 1,245,209 21,038 2,126,338 69.7%
Naphthalene 0 103,746 0 519,632 623,378 20.4%
Polycyclic aromatic compounds 0 9,318 0 219,529 228,847 7.5%
Mercury and mercury compounds 0 4,346 26,750 7,239 38,335 1.3%
Dibenzofuran 0 0 0 23,830 23,830 0.8%
Polychlorinated biphenyls 0 0 4,335 4,600 8,935 0.3%
Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds 0 0 144 0 144 0.0%
Total 37,527 939,974 1,276,438 795,868 3,049,807 100.0%

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Trends in the Generation of Priority Chemicals

The Trends Report also provides information on and analyzes trends related to the quantities and management methods of PCs contained in RCRA Subtitle C hazardous wastes and non-hazardous RCRA Subtitle D industrial wastes for the nation, EPA Regions, states, counties, industry sectors, and federal facilities. We analyze PC trends based on the most recent five years of TRI data available: 2001-2005. This analysis assists EPA in assessing chemical reduction priorities and identifying opportunities for eliminating or reducing PCs.

For 2005, facilities reported approximately 92.4 million pounds of PCs, representing an increase of almost 12.5 million pounds, or 16 percent, compared to the total quantity of PCs reported for 2001.  From 2001 to 2003 the quantity of PCs decreased, coinciding with a decrease in the number of reporting facilities.  Except for a slight increase in reporting facilities in 2004, the 5-year trend shows an overall decrease in the number of facilities reporting a PC quantity.  Nonetheless, the total quantities of PCs increased in 2004 and again in 2005 (see the table and graph below).

TRI Reporting Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Total Quantity of PCs (pounds) 79,878,698 75,091,369 73,777,674 80,579,865 92,374,665
Number of TRI Facilities Reporting PCQuantity 5,668 5,578 5,519 5,531 5,453
Facilities with programs

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In 2005, four of the PCs (lead and lead compounds, naphthalene, hexachlor-1,3-butadiene, and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) accounted for approximately 79 percent of the total national quantity of PCs.

Priority Chemical 2001(pounds) 2002(pounds) 2003(pounds) 2004(pounds) 2005(pounds) Percent of Total PC Quantity 2005)
Lead and lead compounds 36,214,205 34,087,265 35,009,254 32,298,128 36,114,646 39.1%
Naphthalene 9,999,356 11,033,067 10,294,634 12,975,756 17,213,217 18.6%
Hexachloro-1,3-butadiene 6,404,741 5,167,385 5,566,299 7,874,707 10,120,647 11.0%
Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) 11,388,419 9,597,096 9,299,558 9,238,514 9,593,150 10.4%
Hexachlorobenzene 5,765,382 4,208,705 4,270,659 6,485,490 6,685,485 7.2%
Hexachloroethane 4,145,249 4,056,497 2,694,131 3,772,853 6,149,898 6.7%
Phenanthrene 236,791 2,309,918 1,817,968 2,376,755 1,429,592 1.5%
1,2,4-trichlorobenzene 2,144,696 1,527,029 1,674,802 1,888,685 1,269,422 1.4%
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene 990,940 455,559 470,333 559,411 689,704 0.7%
Cadmium and cadmium compounds 932,493 743,457 824,337 863,883 611,331 0.7%
Anthracene 360,837 345,499 419,243 520,669 601,914 0.7%
Pendimethalin 169,180 421,827 429,551 475,695 558,622 0.6%
Pentachlorobenzene 487,719 311,145 484,733 608,691 545,884 0.6%
Quintozene 215,122 205,107 235,816 280,987 303,237 0.3%
Polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs)		 55,665 104,806 54,426 67,758 143,591 0.2%
Dibenzofuran 66,726 288,926 75,605 24,942 139,428 0.2%
Pentachlorophenol 54,339 36,856 28,295 117,264 77,281 0.1%
Mercury and
mercury compounds		 132,565 110,027 47,267 60,900 76,664 0.1%
Trifluralin 92,863 62,544 57,392 81,668 46,563 0.1%
2,4,5-trichlorophenol 20,657 17,913 22,857 5,083 3,800 0.0%
Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds 706 543 390 485 478 0.0%
Heptachlor 0 14 54 775 109 0.0%
Lindane 46 183 71 0 0 0.0%
Methoxychlor 1 1 0 766 0 0.0%
Total 79,878,698 75,091,369 73,777,674 80,579,865 92,374,665 100.0%


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Trends in Management Methods for Priority Chemicals

The Trends Report presents an analysis of the trends seen in the management of 24 PCs between 2001and 2005. EPA and states use this information to identify potential waste minimization opportunities. See the following table for more information on the trends in PCs management from 2001-2005.

Compared to the quantities for 2001, some highlights in management of the PCs include:

Disposal
• Approximately 40 million pounds, or 43 percent, of PCs were disposed of in 2005, 80 percent offsite.
• Disposal quantities, both onsite and offsite disposal, increased.  Onsite disposal of PCs reached a peak in 2002 and had been decreasing until 2005 when it increased sharply by approximately 780,000 pounds. Lead and lead compounds reported by four facilities, including three federal facilities, accounted for most of this increase. 

Energy Recovery
• Approximately 12.2 million pounds, or 13 percent, of PCs were managed using energy recovery in 2005, 58 percent onsite.

Treatment
• Approximately 40.5 million pounds, or 44 percent, of PCs were treated in 2005, 96 percent onsite.

Recycling
• Approximately 531 million pounds of PCs were recycled in 2005.  This quantity was approximately six times larger than the other methods combined used to manage PCs.
• The total recycling quantity decreased significantly, by approximately 180 million pounds, in 2005; both onsite and offsite recycling were comparably used.  Offsite recycling has remained relatively steady since 2001 with an average recycled quantity of 243 million pounds per year; onsite recycling likewise remained relatively steady until 2005 when the recycled quantity decreased by approximately 159 million pounds.  Although numerous facilities reported increased onsite recycling in 2005, these increases were overshadowed by a decrease of approximately 194 million pounds of recycled lead and lead compounds by a facility in Minnesota.  This facility now believes it may have over reported recycling in years previous to 2005 and is considering revising these recycling quantities.
• For the purposes of this Report, we primarily focus on the quantities of PCs we believe they offer the greatest opportunities for waste minimization, i.e., those quantities of PCs that are managed via onsite/offsite disposal, treatment, or energy recovery.  Recycled quantities of the PCs are presented for the purpose of providing some perspective regarding how much of the PCs are already recycled compared to the quantities (disposal, treatment, energy recovery) potentially still available for waste minimization.  See PC-TRI Methodology (PDF File, pages, KB) for more information on the methodology we use to calculate quantities of PCs and measure trends).

Management Method TRI Reporting Year
2001 (pounds) 2002 (pounds) 2003 (pounds) 2004 (pounds) 2005 (pounds)
Onsite Disposal 6,845,069 8,021,327 7,392,373 7,089,448 7,855,346
Offsite Disposal 30,430,684 28,088,433 30,171,938 27,954,978 31,863,610
Total Disposal 37,275,753 36,109,760 37,564,312 35,044,426 39,718,956
Onsite Energy Recovery 11,256,530 7,671,893 6,870,360 8,593,225 7,017,009
Offsite Energy Recovery 2,469,761 5,119,370 2,250,913 3,163,463 5,178,462
Total Energy Recovery 13,726,291 12,791,263 9,121,273 11,756,689 12,195,471
Onsite Treatment 26,659,293 24,867,552 25,974,021 32,336,064 38,873,399
Offsite Treatment 2,217,361 1,322,795 1,118,067 1,442,686 1,586,839
Total Treatment 28,876,654 26,190,347 27,092,089 33,778,751 40,460,238
Onsite Recycling 424,358,279 426,039,880 427,348,099 447,671,147 289,151,630
Offsite Recycling 232,329,894 263,448,551 214,234,323 264,003,053 242,188,307
Total Recycling 656,688,173 689,488,431 641,582,422 711,674,200 531,339,937

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Report Highlights: More Summary Information from the Trends Report

Use these links to view summary analyses without reading the entire Trends Report. Following these links, you will find links to the Trends Report itself. Waste Minimization Trends Report and Query Tool Survey (PDF) (2 pp, 32K) Please take this brief survey to let us know how well we are meeting your needs and expectations for the Trends Report and Query Tool.

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National Priority Chemicals Trends Report

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