How Accurate are the RSEI Data on Toxic Air Pollution?
The Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provide a screening measure of risks to human health, building on data on releases of toxic chemicals into the environment from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). On the RSEI website, the EPA characterizes the database as a tool to identify risk-related situations of high potential concern, and which warrant further evaluation. In addition to the mass (pounds) of releases reported in the TRI, the RSEI data incorporate information on toxicity, fate and transport, and population densities. The RSEI data thereby provide a more robust measure of human health risks than the simple mass of releases reported by the TRI. But the RSEI data are not perfect no data are. Potential sources of error 1. Incorrect data submitted by facilities. Facilities sometimes provide incorrect data on pounds of releases on the Form R reports that they submit annually for the EPAs Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). These d
