The power of information: The example of the U.S. toxics release inventory

Journal of Government Information

Volumn 26, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 287-295

  Jobe, Margaret M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO   (United States)

Author keywords

Environmental protection; Environmental regulation; Information policy; Online databases; Pollution; Toxic chemicals; Toxics release inventory

Indexed keywords

EID: 0346338411     PISSN: 13520237     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S1352-0237(99)00030-1     Document Type: Article

References (43)

1. For a discussion of the various controversies surrounding the content of a publicly accessible database, see Shelley A. Hearne, "Tracking Toxics," Environment 38 (July 1996):4-9. The chemical industry was particularly concerned that compliance with the law would require the release of confidential proprietary information. TRI rules include a provision for suppressing information that could endanger trade secrets.
2. The Toxics Release Inventory does not prescribe standards for chemical emissions.
3. "EPA Management of Data," Title 42 U.S. Code, Sect. 11023(j). The Toxics Release Inventory was established under the authority of Section 313 of Title III of SARA. The mandated reports are often referred to as "Section 313" reports.
4. U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Government Operations, Federal Information Dissemination Policies and Practices: Hearings Before the Government Information, Justice, and Agriculture Subcommittee, 101st Cong., 1st. sess., April 18, May 23, and July 11, 1989, 76.
5. George S. Misko, "The Revolution Ahead: Public Information on Toxic Emissions: CSMA Talks with EPA's Charles Elkins," Chemical Times and Trends, January 1988, 22.
6. U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Government Operations, Federal Information Dissemination Policies and Practices, see the prepared remarks of Jerry J. Berman, "Communication Policy and the Public's Right to Know: Public Access to Electronic Public Information." The discussion of the Toxics Release Inventory database on NLM's TOXNET system appears on pages 30-50.
7. U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Government Operations, Federal Information Dissemination Policies and Practices, see the prepared remarks of Jerry J. Berman, "Communication Policy and the Public's Right to Know: Public Access to Electronic Public Information." The discussion of the Toxics Release Inventory database on NLM's TOXNET system appears on pages 30-50.
8. OMB Watch is available at 〈http://www.RTK.NET:80/ombwatch/〉. The site describes OMB Watch as "a nonprofit research, educational, and advocacy organization that focuses on budget issues, regulatory policy, nonprofit advocacy, access to government information, and activities at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB Watch co-chairs several coalitions in these issue areas, and is a leader in the use of communications technology (e.g., e-mail, the World Wide Web, and on-line databases) for collecting data and disseminating policy information to community groups across the nation." OMB Watch monitors the activities of the OMB because the agency's often stated goal of reducing government paperwork and reporting requirements can be seen to conflict with the needs of various federal agencies to collect full and complete data.
9. U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Government Operations, Creative Ways of Using and Disseminating Federal Information: Hearings before the Government Information, Justice, and Agriculture Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, 102d Cong., 1st and 2d sess., June 19, 1991, February 19 and June 4, 1992, 104.
10. RTK NET offers three methods of access to the TRI and other public data produced by the United States and other governments. Its selection and integration of environmental databases is expanding and it continues to provide interfaces for all levels of users from novice to experienced. The Web version at http://www.rtk.net/ offers multiple search options for selected databases. Search results can be saved in a variety of formats. Telnet access is available at telnet://rtk.net. Users of the telnet services must register with the site. The telnet version offers additional databases and tools for analysis of data. The bulletin board version, which also requires registration, is available at (202) 234-8570 (1200-28800 baud 8N1). In addition to providing access the data, RTK NET provides training on using the data, publishes online and print newsletters, and hosts e-mail conferences.
11. U.S. Congress, Creative Ways of Using and Disseminating Federal Information, 99.
12. Although EPCRA did not mandate that the EPA explain and interpret chemical emissions data to citizens, local governments, and other groups, the agency was concerned about how the data would be interpreted by the local community, as it is difficult to assess the long- and short-term health risks of chemical exposure based solely on the amounts released.
13. Observers of the EPA assert that it has never had a coherent approach to pollution control and regulation. See Richard N.L. Andrews, "Reform or Reaction: EPA at a Crossroads," Environmental Science and Technology 29 (November 1995):505A-510A, for a discussion of the major environmental laws and EPA programs. Andrews argues that the EPA has been a reactive agency without an overall policy and blames Congress for the lack of a consistent, overarching vision.
14. Published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) is a numerical classification standard used for a wide variety of purposes in both the public and private sectors to provide comparability of economic data across industries, government agencies, and programs.
15. "Federal Compliance with Right-to-Know Laws and Pollution Prevention Requirements" (Executive Order 12856, August 3, 1993) Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 29 (August 9, 1993):1556-1561.
16. The newly added industries are metal mines, coal processing operations, oil- and coal-fired power plants, hazardous waste treatment facilities, chemical wholesalers, petroleum bulk storage sites, and solvent recyclers.
17. Envirofacts is available at http://www.epa.gov/enviro/indexjava.html.
18. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (February 20, 1998) Introduction to IRIS, 〈http://www.epa.gov/ ngispgm3/iris/intro.htm〉.
19. At the present time, the available demographic choices are population density, percent people of color, or percent people with income below the poverty level.
20. Bruce Selcraig, "What You Don't Know Can Hurt You," Sierra, January/February 1997, 41.
21. Elana Varon, "Power to the People," Federal Computer Week Online, March 23, 1997, 〈http://www. fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/anniversary/epa.htm〉.
22. For additional information on the FII, see U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (September 1, 1998) FII Overview, 〈http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/fii/fii_overview.html〉.
23. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (n.d.) The U.S. EPA's 25th Anniversary Report: 1970-1995, 〈http://www.epa.gov/25year/25year.html〉.
24. Surf Your Watershed 〈http://www.epa.gov/surf/〉 includes an "Index of Watershed Indicators," links to information on stream and wetlands restoration efforts, data on population and land use, stream flow, 1990 water use, links to Selected Water Resources Abstracts, and links to EPA program databases (such as, water, hazardous waste, and toxic releases) with the appropriate U.S. Geological Survey Cataloging Unit number supplied as the search parameter. The site also includes links to adjacent watersheds, states, counties, and metropolitan areas. The initial search screen includes searches by name, zip code, geography, and school name. The "Index of Watershed Indicators" provides one-stop access to 15 public and private databases. The aggregated information can be used to assess the overall environmental health of individual watersheds.
25. Environmental Indicators 〈http://www.epa.gov/indicators/index.html〉 aggregates information on air and water quality, pesticides, toxic releases, and solid and hazardous waste management by state, county, or zip code.
26. Misko, "The Revolution Ahead," 23.
27. Selcraig, "What You Don't Know Can Hurt You," 40.
28. See Shameek Konar and Mark A. Cohen, "Information as Regulation: The Effect of Community Right to Know Laws on Toxic Emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 32 (1997):109-124; and James T. Hamilton, "Pollution as News: Media and Stock Market Reactions to the Toxics Release Inventory Data," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 28 (January 1995):98-113. Konar and Cohen examine the relationship between subsequent reductions in emissions and the decline in value of stock after the initial release of information. Hamilton analyzes the effect of new (and newsworthy) information on stock performance. When the TRI revealed new information to the media and stockholders, release of pollution data adversely affected stock performance.
29. See Shameek Konar and Mark A. Cohen, "Information as Regulation: The Effect of Community Right to Know Laws on Toxic Emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 32 (1997):109-124; and James T. Hamilton, "Pollution as News: Media and Stock Market Reactions to the Toxics Release Inventory Data," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 28 (January 1995):98-113. Konar and Cohen examine the relationship between subsequent reductions in emissions and the decline in value of stock after the initial release of information. Hamilton analyzes the effect of new (and newsworthy) information on stock performance. When the TRI revealed new information to the media and stockholders, release of pollution data adversely affected stock performance.
30. For additional information on PERI, see IBM Corporation, (n.d.) PERI: The Public Environmental Reporting Initiative Guidelines, 〈http://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/annual97/preface.html〉 and Nortel Networks, (n.d.) Public Environmental Reporting Initiative (PERI) Guidelines, 〈http://www. nortel.com/cool/Habitat/CommSol/peri.html〉.
31. For additional information on PERI, see IBM Corporation, (n.d.) PERI: The Public Environmental Reporting Initiative Guidelines, 〈http://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/annual97/preface.html〉 and Nortel Networks, (n.d.) Public Environmental Reporting Initiative (PERI) Guidelines, 〈http://www. nortel.com/cool/Habitat/CommSol/peri.html〉.
32. See Juliette Kayyem, "The TRI Form: Keeping Track of the Toxics," Columbia Journalism Review 29, no. 4 (November/December 1990):42-43. This article was a sidebar accompanying a larger article on the "Greening of Journalism." When this was written in 1990, Kayyem wrote of reporters travelling to state and local offices to examine paper copies of the Section 313 forms filed by individual companies. In contrast to the present, access to the electronic database was not widely available.
33. Margaret A. Reams, "Grading the States on the Environment," Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy 11 (Winter 1996):82-87.
34. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Reducing Risk: Setting Priorities and Strategies for Environmental Protection (Washington, DC: GPO, 1990), 21.
35. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1995 Toxics Release Inventory Public Data Release: Overview (April 14, 1997) 〈http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/tri/pdr95/drover01.htm〉.
36. U.S. General Accounting Office, Toxic Substances: Status of EPA's Efforts to Reduce Toxic Releases, RCED-94-207 (Gaithersburg, MD: 1994).
37. For additional discussion of the limitations of the TRI data, see Richard Dahl, "Now That You Know," Environmental Health Perspectives 105 (January 1997):38-42; Richard Gottleib et al., "New Approaches to Toxics; Production Design, Right-to-Know and Definition Debates," in Reducing Toxics, ed. Richard Gottleib (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1995); and Shelley A. Hearne, "Tracking Toxics," Environment 38 (July 1996):4-9.
38. For additional discussion of the limitations of the TRI data, see Richard Dahl, "Now That You Know," Environmental Health Perspectives 105 (January 1997):38-42; Richard Gottleib et al., "New Approaches to Toxics; Production Design, Right-to-Know and Definition Debates," in Reducing Toxics, ed. Richard Gottleib (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1995); and Shelley A. Hearne, "Tracking Toxics," Environment 38 (July 1996):4-9.
39. For additional discussion of the limitations of the TRI data, see Richard Dahl, "Now That You Know," Environmental Health Perspectives 105 (January 1997):38-42; Richard Gottleib et al., "New Approaches to Toxics; Production Design, Right-to-Know and Definition Debates," in Reducing Toxics, ed. Richard Gottleib (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1995); and Shelley A. Hearne, "Tracking Toxics," Environment 38 (July 1996):4-9.
40. United Nations Environment Programme, "Background: PRTRs and Their Purposes" (March 1, 1996) 〈http://irptc.unep.ch/prtr/bakgd01.html〉.
41. National Pollutant Release Inventory 〈http://www2.ec.gc.ca/pdb/npri/〉 includes information on releases to air, water, and land and on transfers, reuse and recycling for 176 listed chemicals. The first data was collected in 1993.
42. Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes 〈http://www.ine.gob.mx/retc/retc.html〉 will include information on releases and transfers of 166 chemicals. The first data was collected in 1997.
43. John Chelen, "Celebrating 10 Years of TRI," RTK NET Online, Fall 1996, 8.