Regional Profile for EPA Region 9
This section examines TRI reporting in EPA Region 9. Region 9 includes Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands (American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands), and 148 Tribes.
Region 9 covers 15% of the US population and includes 8% of all facilities that report to TRI. For state- and tribe-specific TRI data, see the Where You Live section and the Tribal Communities section.
This chart shows the industry sectors with the most TRI-reporting facilities in Region 9.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
In 2018:
- 1,661 facilities in Region 9 reported to TRI. These facilities were most commonly in the nonmetallic mineral products (including concrete and cement manufacturing) or chemical manufacturing sectors. The number of facilities and sectors reporting for 2018 were similar to 2017 reporting for the region.
- Most releases in Region 9 were from the metal mining sector, which accounted for 81% of the region’s releases for 2018. After metal mining, the primary metals (including smelting), hazardous waste management, and petroleum products manufacturing sectors reported the highest releases. Note that relatively few facilities in the metal mining, primary metals, and hazardous waste management sectors reported to TRI in this region and those sectors are included in "All Others" in the pie chart above. Nationwide, the metal mining, chemical manufacturing, electric utilities, and primary metals sectors reported the highest releases.
- Metal mining facilities typically handle large volumes of material. In this sector, even a small change in the chemical composition of the mineral deposit being mined can lead to big changes in the amount of TRI-listed chemicals reported. Therefore releases in Region 9, where 41 metal mines reported to TRI for 2018, may not follow national trends. For more information on the metal mining sector, see the metal mining sector profile.
For information on the facilities with the greatest releases in the region, see the Region 9 TRI Factsheet.
The following graph shows the annual quantities of TRI chemicals in production-related waste
production-related wasteThe sum of all non-accidental chemical waste generated at a facility. It is the sum of on-site environmental releases (minus quantities from non-routine, one-time events), on-site waste management (recycling, treatment, and combustion for energy recovery), and off-site transfers for disposal, treatment, recycling or energy recovery. managed by facilities located in Region 9. For more details on quantities released, toggle to the Releases graph.
Note: For comparability, trend graphs include only those chemicals that were reportable to TRI for all years presented.
In 2018:
- Facilities reported managing 965 million pounds of production-related waste, 57% of which was disposed of or otherwise released. Nationally, 12% of production-related waste was disposed of or otherwise released. The high proportion of production-related waste that is released in Region 9 is driven by metal mines, which disposed of or otherwise released 93% of their production-related waste for 2018.
- Since 2017, quantities of production-related waste managed increased by 6%, driven by increased production-related waste managed in the primary metals and metal mining sectors.
From 2007 to 2018:
- Total production-related waste managed decreased by 32 million pounds (3%), driven by decreases in the primary metals sector. Nationally, quantities of production-related waste managed increased by 28% since 2007, driven by increased recycling.
The following graph shows the annual quantities of TRI chemicals released by facilities located in Region 9.
Note: For comparability, trend graphs include only those chemicals that were reportable to TRI for all years presented.
In 2018:
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Facilities reported 551 million pounds of releases.
2018 Highlight
TRI releases in Region 9 are primarily from metal mines. Metal mines reported 81% of the region’s releases for 2018.
- The chemicals released in the greatest quantities by medium were:
- ammonia and sulfuric acid to air;
- nitrate compounds to water;
- arsenic and arsenic compounds and manganese and manganese compounds to land; and
- nitrate compounds and manganese and manganese compounds transferred off site for disposal.
- Since 2017, releases increased by 16.3 million pounds (3%). Releases increased to all media, except off-site transfers for disposal. Nationally, releases decreased by 3% since 2017.
- Contribution by state to the Region 9 releases in pounds were: Nevada (62%), Arizona (31%), California (7%), and Hawaii (1%).
- To consider the potential health risk from chronic exposure to these releases, EPA uses a risk-screening score from the RSEI model. Contributions by state to the RSEI score for Region 9 were: California (80%), Arizona (16%), Nevada (3%), and Hawaii (1%).
From 2007 to 2018:
- Releases in Region 9 increased by 200 million pounds (57%), driven by increased releases reported by the metal mining sector, where releases often vary substantially from year to year. Excluding the metal mining sector, releases in Region 9 increased by 7 million pounds (7%). Nationally, total disposal or other releases of TRI chemicals decreased by 9% since 2007.
- Quantities of chemicals released to air and water decreased, while land disposal and off-site transfers for disposal increased.
Source Reduction
In 2018, 6% of facilities in Region 9 (103 facilities) reported implementing new source reduction activities. Source reduction reporting rates in the region were among the highest in the electrical equipment sector, where 16% of facilities reported at least one source reduction activity. For example, a storage battery manufacturer improved its single shot method of delivering electrolyte in formation to reduce its use of raw materials containing lead compounds. [Click to view facility details in the P2 tool].
This page was published in February 2020 and uses the 2018 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in November 2019.