Multimedia Query Systems Data

Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Contains data of toxic chemicals released and other waste management activities reported annually by certain covered industry groups and federal facilities.

Data type:Release (estimated and measured)
Geographic Coverage:U.S., State, ZIP, Facility
Strengths:Provides estimated data about more than 650 chemicals being released to the environment annually by a variety of facilities. It is very user friendly and flexible, allowing users to query data by facility, county, state, or U.S. Data can also be analyzed by industry, by specific media (e.g., air, water, or land), and by chemical.
Limitations:Not all chemicals or industries are reported. In some cases, release data are estimated. Release data are not good for estimating possible exposures because they reflect levels of chemicals at the point where they are released to the environment, not where they would have contact with people. More TRI information.

MYEnvironment – EPA
This search application provides various environmental information based on the user's location. Results include map with regulated facilities in that area and information specific to that location on energy, outdoor air, water, local community efforts, hazardous waste sites and cleanup efforts, and health information.

Data type:Various, links to various datasets
Geographic Coverage:U.S., State, County, Town/City, ZIP
Strengths:MyEnvironment provides one stop shopping for basic environmental information about facilities that generate pollution and wastes. On this site you can simultaneously access and overlay information from a variety of U.S. EPA databases. The site is very user friendly. ZIP-Code level reports can easily be generated showing available environmental information. Or, users can customize reports based on geographic areas of interest.
Limitations:MyEnvironment easily provides basic descriptive information about facilities or sources of pollutants, however, more advanced queries that provide pollutant or emissions levels or quantities of waste require an in depth understanding of database design and function.