EPA announces Toxics Release Inventory University Challenge winners

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Mercyhurst University are the winners of their 2015 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) University Challenge.

The TRI is an information resource for communities, governments and non-governmental organizations that need data related to chemical releases into the environment. It also provides information on the steps different industries are taking to combat their releases into the air, water and land.

The University Challenge was initiated for 2014-2015 and uses selected academic partners to raise awareness about the data and increase its use in things like academic research, policy development and sustainable corporate initiatives.

“For more than 25 years, the TRI Program has gathered data critical to helping communities make informed decisions about their environment,” EPA Chief Information Officer Ann Dunkin said. “Through the 2015 TRI University Challenge, we hope to raise awareness of this valuable data among students and professors, and engage them in research that will benefit their communities and further our work to protect human health and the environment.”