Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program
Urban Communities:
Metropolitan New York
 TRI facilities in Metropolitan New York |
Quick Facts for 2010:
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The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA metropolitan area, also known as Metropolitan New York, Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States, with an estimated population of 18.9 million. It is also one of the most densely populated urban areas in the United States. The metropolitan area includes ten counties in New York State (those coinciding with the five boroughs of New York City, the two counties of Long Island, and three counties in the lower Hudson Valley); 12 counties in Northern and Central New Jersey; and one county in northeastern Pennsylvania. In addition to New York City, other cities include: Newark, NJ; Edison, NJ; White Plains, NY; Wayne, NJ; and New Brunswick, NJ.
The metropolitan area covers about 6,720 square miles of land situated near and around several important water bodies, including the Hudson River, Delaware River, Long Island Sound, New York Bay, East River, Newark Bay, Jamaica Bay, Raritan Bay, and New York Bight (Atlantic Ocean). Many of these water bodies are important coastal estuaries.
The New York metropolitan area hosts a large and diverse manufacturing sector. Some of the principal industries include petroleum refining, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, apparel, electric utilities, printing and publishing, metal products, automobile parts, processed foods, and furniture. The area also serves as a major transportation hub, with the Port of New York and New Jersey, being the largest port complex on the East Coast and the third largest in the United States.
Petroleum refineries had the largest on-site total disposal or other releases, due to almost 2.4 million pounds of surface water discharges of nitrate compounds from one refinery. Electric utilities had the largest air releases, with almost 619 thousand pounds, 70% of which was releases of ammonia.
Total on-site disposal or other releases for the metropolitan New York area decreased by 67% from 2001 to 2010, including a decrease of 83% in air releases and 88% in on-site land disposal or other releases. Electric utilities decreased their air releases by 92% from 2005 to 2010, including a decrease of 32% from 2009 to 2010. However, overall surface water discharges in the metropolitan New York area increased by 25% from 2001 to 2010, including an increase of 21% from 2009 to 2010. The increase from 2009 to 2010 was primarily due to an increase from one petroleum refinery of over 400 thousand pounds of nitrate compounds.
Top Five Chemicals by Environmental Medium
Metropolitan New York, 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.