Virginia DEQ issues 2020 Toxic Release Inventory report

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has released the 2020 Toxic Release Inventory report, which shows the amount of chemicals released into Virginia’s environment.

According to the report, there was an overall 5.87 percent increase from 2019 in chemicals that were managed, transferred or released by industries, with a total amounting to 871.74 million pounds.

The vast majority of the change in numbers from 2019 consists of an increase of 56.5 million pounds recycled on site, which means the chemicals were reused and not released into the environment. Furthermore, although there was a slight increase in overall releases, individual releases to land and air continue to show a downward trend.

In the long-term, between 2007 and 2020, the amount of chemicals released in Virginia has gone down by about 54 percent.

The TRI is a mandatory reporting program overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that requires industrial facilities to submit TRI data. All data is available in a public database that records toxic chemical releases, transfers, waste management and pollution-prevention activities. The latest report submitted by DEQ contains data from the reporting year 2020 (the most current data available).

“We are encouraged that Virginia’s citizens, businesses, community organizations and state and local agencies are embracing measures to prevent pollution as part of their everyday activities,” said DEQ Director Mike Rolband. “In recent years, we’ve seen a downward trend and this reinforces the importance of working together to eliminate or reduce pollution at the source.”

Statistics* of note in the 2020 TRI compared to 2019 include:

• 14.7 million pounds released into the air (2.68 percent decrease)
• 12.2 million pounds released into water (12.88 percent increase)
• 1.42 million pounds released to land (4.86 percent decrease)
• 216,283 pounds of persistent bio-accumulative toxins released (11.57 percent decrease)

(*Percentages are approximate; exact amounts are available in the full report)

The 2020 TRI is now available on the DEQ website. Reporting requirements for facilities about 2021 releases will be available later this year. Results will be published and available to the public in early 2023.