Right to Know
Every American has the right to know the chemicals to which they may
be exposed in their daily living. Right-to-Know laws provide information
about possible chemical exposures. Below is a list of some of the information
that EPA provides the public in the spirit of right to know.
Toxics Release Inventory
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
- A database which provides information to the public about releases of
toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities into the environment through
the air, water, and land.
Access
TRI Data via Envirofacts by typing in your zip code - The
TRI Query retrieves data in Envirofacts for facilities reporting chemical
releases to TRI from 1987-1995. Your query returns facility information,
as well as chemical reports, which tabulate air emissions, surface water
discharges, releases to land, underground injections, and transfers to
off-site locations.
Air Toxics
- This page provides background information on toxic air pollutants--poisonous
substances in the air that come from natural or manmade sources and can
harm the environment or your health.
Search By
Zip Code - Search for local information by typing in
your zip code. You may select one of three databases. For pollution,
hazardous
waste sites, and other regulatory information, search Envirofacts. For
computer-generated maps of regulated sites in your area, search
EnviroMapper. For environmental conditions and activities in your
watershed, search
Surf Your Watershed.
RTK-Net 
- A network funded by several philanthropic and government agencies (including
EPA) and jointly operated by two nonprofit organizations: Unison Institute
and OMB Watch. Includes information on many EPA programs, regulations
and tools and is the site for the RTK-Net LEPC/SERC Network.
Title III List
of Lists: Consolidated List of Chemicals Subject to the Emergency Planning
and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and Section 112(r) of the Clean
Air Act - This database assists facilities and state and local
governments in compliance with the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
Act (EPCRA), the accident prevention provisions of the Clean Air Act,
and general chemical emergency preparedness and prevention.
Food
Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 Assessing
Health Risks from Pesticides - This fact sheet provides a
brief overview of EPA's process for assessing potential risks to human
health when evaluating pesticide products.
Consumption Advisories
- Consumption advisories help protect people from the health risks of
consuming contaminated noncommercially caught fish and wildlife.
FQPA
Amendments - Summary of FQPA Amendments to the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
Highlights
of the FQPA of 1996 (08/96) - FQPA contains provisions which
strengthen standards for evaluating the safety of pesticide residues in
food and includes special safeguards for children.
Pesticides and Food:
What You and Your Family Need to Know - a Web version of the brochure
that discusses the risks and benefits of pesticide use on food, and ways
in which consumers can reduce their exposure to pesticides. A search feature
allows you to determine what pesticides are approved for use on foods.
Air Pollution
AIRNOW - AIRNOW provides
real-time air pollution data, information about the public health and
environmental effects of air pollution, and provides the public with information
about ways to protect their health and reduce pollution.
Plain
English Guide to the Clean Air Act - The Clean Air Act will
improve air quality in the United States, a good thing for your health,
your property and the environment. The 1990 Act could change the way you
work or do business. It could even change the way you live. This summary
covers some of the important provisions of the 1990 Clean Air Act.
Air Quality Trends
Report - Published annually by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, this report highlights EPA's most recent evaluation of status
and trends in our nation's air quality, with the goal of continued improvement
in the overall quality of our nation's air.
AIRS
Facility Query via Envirofacts - AIRS (Aerometric Information
Retrieval System) Facility Subsystem (AFS) contains both emissions and
compliance data on air pollution point sources regulated by the U.S. EPA
and/or state and local air regulatory agencies.
Ozone
Mapping System for the New England Area - This system offers
daily ozone forecasts, peak maps, and a daily ozone movie so that the
public has an opportunity to take precautionary actions by limiting exposure
and reducing pollution-causing activities. Information is available only
for the New England area at his time.
Water Quality
Surf Your Watershed
- A service to help you locate, use, and share environmental information
on your watershed or community.
Index of Watershed Indicators
- EPA's first national picture of watershed health. The Index organizes
and presents aquatic resource information on a watershed basis. Watersheds
are those land areas bounded by ridge lines that catch rain and snow,
and drain to specific marshes, streams, rivers, lakes, or to groundwater.
Watersheds are important because activities within them affect water quality.
Local Drinking
Water Information - This page gives consumers an easy way
to find information about their drinking water supplier, their sources
of drinking water, and what their state drinking water program is doing.
Water on Tap
- How safe is my drinking water? Where does my drinking water come from,
and how does it get to my home? What can I do to help protect my drinking
water? This publication examines these questions and offers information
on protecting your drinking water.
Water Publications
- Find a listing of newsletters and periodicals, publications available
online, as well as videotapes available for ordering.
Lead Program
Lead Program
- US EPA's OPPT Lead Home Page lists various technical and general information
documents on lead. Many of these documents may be useful to the general
public, parents, and home owners, buyers or renters. Further, EPA has
provided web links to other sources of information on lead and will be
posting more information and new listings as they become available.
Lead
Program Educational Resources - Download essential posters
and pamphlets to learn about lead in your home and community.
Residential
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Program - Recognizing that families
have a right to know about lead-based paint and potential lead hazards
in their homes, Congress directed EPA and the Department of Housing and
Urban Development to work together to develop disclosure requirements
for sales and leases of older housing.
Hazardous Waste
Superfund
Risk Assessment - Learn about human health risks posed by
hazardous waste sites and, if you do not find what you are looking for,
or have a specific question, send us a note through the 'Ask Your Question'
page.
Additional Concerned Citizens Web Resources
Water | Prevention,
Pesticides & Toxics | Pesticides
| Solid Waste | Chemical
Emergency | Superfund
| Global
Warming |
Region 1: New England States | Region
2: NJ, NY, PR, VI | Region
6: AR, LA, NM, OK, TX | Region
8: Northern/Mountain States
|
