TRI Checklist

ERA has developed this checklist to assist the EHS and safety managers who devote countless hours to the complex TRI reporting tasks in addition to the time they devote to maintaining the safety procedures that provide safe work environments for American workers and their communities nation-wide.

• Reporting Criteria

  • Confirm that your facility’s NAICS code is required to report -OR-
  • You are a federal facility which must report regardless of SIC or NAICS codes -AND-
  • That your facility employs 10+ full-time employee equivalents (20,000+ work hours) -AND-
  • Your facility manufactures, imports, processes, or otherwise uses TRI covered chemicals and are above thresholds
    
    

• TRI Chemical Compilation

  • Account for ALL chemical sources including contractor chemicals, maintenance repairs, and other one-off activities in your list of TRI reportable chemicals
  • Count TRI chemicals that are repackaged for subsequent commercial distribution (including sent for recycling) as a processing activity
  • DO NOT overlook coincidental manufacture, which is a production of an EPCRA Section 313 chemical (e.g.: by-product or impurity) as a result of the manufacture, processing, or otherwise use or disposal of another chemical or mixture of chemicals
    
    

• Chemical List Changes

  • Account for the 176 polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to TRI list of reportable chemicals
  • Account for updated De Minimis Levels such as 0.1% for 1,2-phenylenediamine (95-54-5), and 1,2-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (615-28-1). Cobalt compounds that release ions in vivo now have a de minimis of 0.1%, and other cobalt compounds are at 1.0%.
  • Review TRI regulatory publications for industry-specific updates or change
    
    

• Toxic Chemical Activity Thresholds

  • Identify all categories of chemical use and include all chemicals rather than only those where thresholds are exceeded
  • Evaluate threshold quantities as the total amount of chemicals manufactured, processed, or otherwise used NOT the amount of TRI chemical released or managed as waste
  • Apply the sum of chemical/compound to each activity threshold including all facility threshold activities Be aware that some discrete amount of a TRI chemical can go through more than one threshold activity, and must be counted towards each threshold activity
  • Account for the lower thresholds of the 21 chemicals/compounds designated as persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals
  • Count original chemical amounts used in threshold activity ONLY ONCE per reporting year to avoid over-reporting
  • Consider chemicals sent off-site and returned are considered new materials and count towards activity thresholds
  • Account for the exact fate of each of your chemicals after POTW treatment. In the event that the information is unavailable, you are required to use the default POTW distribution percentages
     

• Chemical and Release Calculations

  • Make sure that your chemical data sources adequately cover non-exempted composition thresholds
  • Confirm Basis of Estimate Codes are accurate
  • Factor waste treatment and disposal method release pathways
  • Threshold calculations are based on the sum of the chemical (or chemical compounds in a category) under each of the activities manufactured, processed, or otherwise used throughout the reporting year
    
    

• Reporting Exemptions

  • Apply de minimis exemptions to non-PBT TRI chemicals in a mixture or product
  • DO NOT apply de minimis exemptions to manufacturing of chemicals OR as manufacturing by-products OR as wastes
  • Article Exemptions DO NOT apply to TRI chemical releases during their normal use
  • Article Exemptions DO NOT apply to actual manufacturing of articles
  • Laboratory Activity Exemptions DO NOT apply to cases where TRI chemicals are used in specialty chemical production, pilot scale plant operations, non-laboratory set activities, or support services
  • Motor Vehicle Maintenance Exemption is an Otherwise Use Exemption and does NOT apply to TRI chemicals released through fuel combustion
    
    

• Validation, Record Keeping, and Documentation

  • Validate that TRI reporting is consistent with other relevant regulatory compliance and permitting requirements (i.e. NEI, RCRA, etc.)
  • Reconcile emission inventory data with TRI data
  • Account for and safely archive historic reports, documents, and records that may be necessary for amending TRI report or environmental audit
    
    

• Form Submission

  • Confirm Form A eligibility criteria is met when/if applicable
  • Complete a Form-R (or Form A if eligibility criteria is met) for each chemical exceeding report threshold
  • Hard-copy filing is ONLY accepted for trade-secret reporting
    
    

• Central Data Exchange and TRI-MEweb

  • Confirm that your company has a Central Data Exchange Account
  • Confirm that both the Preparer and Certifier have appropriate access to TRI-MEweb