Industry Toxics Use Data Available

Janet Clark, senior associate director of TURI.

The Massachusetts Toxic Use Reduction Institute (TURI) holds the nation’s most comprehensive pollution prevention data set available online, according to an article published in the September issue of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE) News. The database is available at www.turi.org/turadata.

Janet Clark, senior associate director of TURI, says the state database is more comprehensive than the federal version. Under the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA), companies annually report their chemical use, byproduct generation and amount shipped in products to the state. In this way, the program collects data on all large uses of toxic substances in manufacturing.

In contrast, companies reporting under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act only provide data on toxic emissions and wastes. The TURA data make possible detailed analyses of toxic chemical use in Massachusetts by any interested party.

Since TURA went into effect in 1989, Massachusetts manufacturers have voluntarily reduced their total use of toxic chemicals by 40 percent, and reduced byproduct releases by 70 percent and site releases to air, water and soil by 91 percent. These trend calculations have been normalized for production, and have occurred at a time when industry has expanded production.

Searchable by chemical, company or community, TURA data are used to measure progress and inform policies – to reveal impact on business resulting from lower threshold designations for selected toxics or to suggest targets for TURI’s assistance initiatives. However, TURA data are intended for public use, following right-to-know principles.

“We have three goals in encouraging database use by researchers,” says Clark, “one, to advance public knowledge and impact; two, to improve the design of our web interface, and three, to advance research in industrial ecology.”

Research themes might include more details about flows in a supply chain, Massachusetts as benchmark for sectors of interest, opportunities to support local synergies, trends over the 20 years, better understanding of dynamics of change, etc. The TURI reference librarian is available online to assure efficient discovery of associated process technologies, chemicals policies and alternatives assessment (contact jan@turi.org).

TURA will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2009.

This groundbreaking environmental statute is considered a model worldwide. Its goal is safer and cleaner production and services that enhance the economic viability of Massachusetts firms and advance healthier communities and workplaces.

The framework to achieve this goal is mandatory reporting on toxics use, facility planning for toxics use reduction and community right-to-know. Toxics use reduction is a fundamental form of pollution prevention that focuses on reducing the use of toxic chemicals and the generation of wastes in the manufacturing process. It does not focus on the management or treatment of wastes once they are produced.