{
  "id": "1995-january-how-to-deal-with-epa-data",
  "slug": "1995-january-how-to-deal-with-epa-data",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-january-how-to-deal-with-epa-data.html",
  "year": 1995,
  "month": "January",
  "monthNum": 1,
  "headline": "How to deal with EPA data",
  "kicker": "",
  "author_name": "",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "",
  "summary": "Journalists can obtain EPA Toxic Release Inventory databases to analyze industrial pollution patterns in their regions by zip code and facility type using basic database software. The data can be used to create data maps, identify major polluters, track waste disposal methods, and contact facility representatives for verification and follow-up reporting.",
  "keywords": [
    "EPA",
    "pollution",
    "database"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Health & Environment",
    "Data & Databases",
    "Investigative Methods"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "PC-File"
  ],
  "full_text": "How to deal with EPA data\n\nWith just an old XT, shareware and a free database, you can create great environmental stories for your readership area. The EPA now gives out state Toxic Release Inventory databases as if they were candy. To get a state's TRI database mailed to you, call TRI user support at (202) 260-1531. You will receive it within a couple of weeks. The data comes on 1/2-inch disks, so if you don't have this type of drive, swap the data onto 3 1/2-inch disks on another computer. Data jockeys at the EPA set up state TRI for easy import into almost any database program. If you don't already have a database program, you can to get a shareware database, such as PC-File, from a computer-users group, BBS or university computing service. Once the data is imported, separate the records by zip code and add the amount of chemicals released by all the companies within each zip code. This will show you which areas in your county or region have reported the most industrial pollution. You can then look at the companies which fall within the zip code areas with the highest amount of pollution to see which companies are emitting the most and worst pollutants. Present this information in a datamap or create a list ranking the polluted areas and the biggest polluters works. By calculating totals for the releases to air, water, on-site landfill, underground well injection and off-site hauling fields, you can show, in percentages, how industries in your area are disposing their waste. Each facility will have a field for its standard industrial code, which tells what sort of manufacturing they do, from making clothes to smelting metals. By totaling the amount of releases for each standard industrial code, you can rank the types of industries that pollute the most. Your reporting doesn't end with the data analysis. With the address of each facility included in the database, it easy to find the residents nearest the factories. The companies also file the name and telephone number of a contact person with whom you can confirm the data and ask whether attempts at pollution reduction are being made. (Some of the concepts for this sidebar were derived from Dave Davis' story \"Industries Report Decreases,\" The Plain Dealer, December 11, 1991.)",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1998-october-polluters-online",
      "score": 0.385
    },
    {
      "slug": "1991-october-tri-working-guide-available-at-micar",
      "score": 0.369
    },
    {
      "slug": "1995-january-epa-sources",
      "score": 0.351
    },
    {
      "slug": "1996-october-what-toxins-are-wafting-your-way",
      "score": 0.301
    },
    {
      "slug": "2005-may-june-grappling-with-data-on-epa-mainframe",
      "score": 0.3
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-january-how-to-deal-with-epa-data.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-january-how-to-deal-with-epa-data.json"
}