Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program
Urban Communities:
Chicago Metropolitan Area
 TRI facilities in Chicago Metropolitan Area |
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Quick Facts for 2009:
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The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI metropolitan area is the third largest in the United States with a population of 9.6 million. It includes nine counties in northern Illinois, four counties in northwest Indiana, and one county in southeast Wisconsin. The metropolitan area covers 9,581 square miles on the Chicago Plain, a flat and broad area along the southwestern curve of Lake Michigan. Principle cities in the metropolitan area include: Chicago, IL; Joliet, IL; Naperville, IL; Elgin, IL; Gary, IN; Evanston, IL; Arlington Heights, IL; Schaumburg, IL; Skokie, IL; and Des Plaines, IL.
Lake Michigan is the drinking water source for over five million people in the area. Heavy traffic, industrial pollution and sewage overflows threaten the health of the lake. Air pollutants from industries and power plants are also a pollution source as they are deposited from the atmosphere into the lake. Other important waterways in the metropolitan area include the Chicago River, the Des Plaines River, the Fox Chain O'lakes, and the Fox River.
The Chicago metropolitan area is one of the major industrial centers in the United States, manufacturing chemicals, petroleum products, machinery, food, steel and other metal products, automobiles and other transportation equipment, printed materials, plastic and rubber products, computers, and telecommunications gear. The area is a major electric power producer with several large electric power plants, many coal-fired. It is also an important transportation hub; the Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River.
Primary metals facilities (such as iron and steel mills and smelters) had the largest surface water discharges, on-site land disposal or other releases and on-site underground injection for 2009, accounting for three-quarters of these types of disposal or other releases in the metropolitan Chicago area. This industry sector discharged to surface waters almost1.6 million pounds of nitrate compounds.
Total on-site disposal or other releases for the Chicago metropolitan area decreased by 25% from 2001 to 2009 with a 12% decrease from 2008 to 2009. Air releases decreased 29% from 2001 to 2009 and 14% from 2008 to 2009. Surface water discharges decreased by 50% from 2001 to 2009 and 17% from 2008 to 2009. The primary metals total disposal or other releases decreased by 20% from 2001 to 2009, including a 49% decrease in surface water discharges and a 31% decrease in air releases.
Top Five Chemicals by Environmental Medium, 2009
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These charts represent the top five TRI chemicals in pounds released for this urban community, and do not include all chemicals of concern nor the priority or importance of those chemicals within the urban community.