A Visual Data Analysis of the Toxics Release Inventory

The Environmental Protection Agency\u27s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a collection of data detailing the way hazardous chemicals are handled in industrial facilities. By requiring certain manufacturing facilities to report releases, the EPA offered the public unprecedented access to environmentally relevant data. Since its inception in 1986, the TRI has grown and changed both in chemicals and industries monitored. This thesis uses the data visualization platform Tableau, publicly available yearly TRI reports, and Life cycle impact assessment methodology to create a tool which 1) improves upon previous analyses of the TRI dataset, 2) offers an analysis based on previously underexplored environmental impacts, and 3) creates a simple online tool for communities, industry, and government to use to better identify and target problem areas