Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program
Urban Communities:
Metropolitan Atlanta
 TRI facilities in Metropolitan Atlanta |
Quick Facts for 2010:
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The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA metropolitan area, also called Metro Atlanta, is made up of 28 counties in north Georgia. Its population of 5.3 million is spread out over a relatively large land area of 8,376 square miles. Although it has the ninth largest population of U.S. metropolitan areas, it is one of the less densely populated large metropolitan areas in the United States.
Most of the Metro Atlanta area lies in the Chattahoochee River basin. The Chattahoochee River feeds Lake Lanier, the main source of drinking water for Metro Atlanta.
The main industrial activities in Metro Atlanta include automobile and aircraft manufacturing, primary metals, food and beverage processing, textiles, printing and publishing, chemical manufacturing, and telecommunications hardware. In addition, the metropolitan area generates significant amounts of electric power, primarily from coal-fired plants.
In the Atlanta metropolitan area electric utilities had the largest total disposal or other releases for 2010. Four electric utilities reported 88% of the total on-site disposal or other releases. They also accounted for 80% of total air releases, mainly hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, and 99% of total on-site land disposal or other releases, 45% of which was barium and its compounds. The food products industry reported 65% of total surface water discharges, primarily as nitrate compounds.
Total on-site disposal or other releases decreased by 58% from 2001 to 2010, including an 8% decrease from 2009 to 2010. A very large decrease (64%) occurred from 2006 to 2010. Air releases decreased by 76% from 2001 to 2010 and by 29% from 2009 to 2010. Electric utilities reported a decrease of 32% from 2009 to 2010 in air releases. However, they had an increase of 9% in surface water discharges and an increase of 34% in on-site land disposal or other releases during that period. Surface water discharges decreased overall by 69% from 2001 to 2010, including an 11% decrease from 2009 to 2010. On-site land disposal or other releases increased from 2001 to 2010 by 65%, including an increase of 32% from 2009 to 2010, primarily due to increases from electric utilities.
Top Five Chemicals by Environmental Medium
Metropolitan Atlanta, 2010
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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.