Environmental Statistics
Data and trends from 15,854 Superfund sites and 78,654 toxic release records across states.
The EPA tracks 15,854 Superfund sites and 78,654 toxic release inventory records across states. This page provides an overview of chemical releases, industry activity, and the geographic distribution of environmental hazards in the United States.
TRI Releases by Year
Number of toxic release records and total pounds released per reporting year.
Top Chemicals by Release Volume
Chemicals with the highest total pounds released to the environment.
TRI Records by Industry
Industry sectors reporting the most toxic chemical releases.
Superfund Sites by State
States with the most EPA Superfund hazardous waste sites.
Top 15 Chemicals
Chemicals with the most TRI reporting records and highest total release amounts.
| # | Chemical | Records | Total Released (lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zinc compounds | 2,896 | 0 |
| 2 | Lead And Lead Compounds | 2,092 | 0 |
| 3 | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 2,340 | 0 |
| 4 | Hydrogen sulfide | 504 | 0 |
| 5 | Ammonia | 2,199 | 0 |
| 6 | Manganese And Manganese Compounds | 606 | 0 |
| 7 | Copper And Copper Compounds | 623 | 0 |
| 8 | Methanol | 2,242 | 0 |
| 9 | Arsenic compounds | 124 | 0 |
| 10 | Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) | 316 | 0 |
| 11 | Barium And Barium Compounds | 297 | 0 |
| 12 | Lead compounds | 1,502 | 0 |
| 13 | Manganese compounds | 940 | 0 |
| 14 | n-Hexane | 1,542 | 0 |
| 15 | Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) | 544 | 0 |
Top Carcinogens
Known carcinogens with the most toxic release records.
| # | Chemical | Records | Total Released (lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenic compounds | 124 | 0 |
| 2 | Styrene | 1,142 | 0 |
| 3 | Asbestos (friable) | 34 | 0 |
| 4 | Nickel And Nickel Compounds | 548 | 0 |
| 5 | Formaldehyde | 715 | 0 |
| 6 | Lead | 4,099 | 0 |
| 7 | Acetaldehyde | 446 | 0 |
| 8 | Nickel compounds | 492 | 0 |
| 9 | Benzene | 1,179 | 0 |
| 10 | Acrylonitrile | 89 | 0 |
| 11 | Nickel | 2,549 | 0 |
| 12 | Acrylamide | 75 | 0 |
| 13 | Cadmium And Cadmium Compounds | 38 | 0 |
| 14 | Polychlorinated biphenyls | 74 | 0 |
| 15 | Arsenic And Arsenic Compounds | 90 | 0 |
About This Data
All environmental data comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Superfund site data is sourced from the EPA's Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS). Toxic release data comes from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, which requires certain industrial facilities to report annually on the quantities of toxic chemicals they release into the environment or otherwise manage.