Is an industrial operation in your area releasing toxic chemicals into the environment? It's fairly easy to find out via the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) published annually by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA unveiled analysis of its most recent data (for 2013) on January 14, 2015. The TRI provides a useful starting point for finding not only local and regional hotspots, but also significant trends.

The TRI data is online and searchable (as well as downloadable for you data-journalism buffs). The analysis published by EPA can help you break down what is going on in your state or in a particular industry. This year a new feature allows comparison of parent companies.

• Go to EPA's TRI overview page [2] for starters. If you are ready to start searching, go here. [3]
• "Toxic Industrial Releases Rose 14 Percent in 2013, Primarily Due to Metal Mining Wastes," [4] The Fine Print (Center for Effective Government), January 27, 2015, by Amanda Frank.
• Previous Story: WatchDog of January 14, 2015. [5]