TURA Data

A Unique Tool to Advance Environmental Justice

Communities in Massachusetts have unrivaled access to information about the use of toxic chemicals. Under the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA), manufacturing facilities in the state must report their use of hundreds of different toxic chemicals if they have greater than ten employees and use more than a certain amount per year. Information is collected yearly about what chemicals are being used and their quantities, in which locations, for which industries and by which companies.

As part of their “right to know,” communities in Massachusetts can find information about the use of toxics in their vicinity, as well as their byproduct and releases. This information can be found on “TURA Data,” a user-friendly website (www.TURAdata.org) maintained by TURI.

Access to information on the use of toxic chemicals empowers businesses, researchers and community organizations to enable the adoption of alternatives that are less hazardous to human health and the environment. The adoption of safer alternatives advances environmental justice for communities that are at elevated risk of pollution, contamination and hazardous exposures in the workplace.

TURI recently released its Environmental Justice Report, which utilizes the information generated by TURA and available in TURA Data. For example, the addition of a category of PFAS substances to the TURA list of chemicals in 2021 enabled the generation and disclosure of information about the use of these toxics in Massachusetts and where alternatives are needed (see ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THROUGH TOXICS USE REDUCTION, Figure 15, p. 19). Innovators are now better able to identify needs and develop solutions to help prevent pollution and protect workers by reducing the use of these toxics at the source.

Unfortunately, a dataset like TURA Data on the use of toxic chemicals is rare. Massachusetts is the only state in the United States with a comprehensive mechanism to collect such information on chemical use, and one of the few in the world.

New Update!

TURI recently redesigned it Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) Data online tool. This one of a kind tool allows users to track chemical use by substance or class, by user or geographic area.  While currently limited to one state of the United States (Massachusetts), and can serve as a model for other jurisdictions.

Whether you are a manager, worker, community organizer or legislator, you will find the data useful. This “right to know” information provides insights into comparable usage amounts and trends in companies and communities.

Simply click on a chemical, company or town to view charts that make it easy to understand toxic chemical use in Massachusetts.  The TURA Data online tool pulls data reported to MassDEP by more than 400 Massachusetts companies that otherwise use more than 10,000 lbs., or manufacturer or process over 25,000 lbs., of a listed chemical, and use over 1,000 lbs. of a “higher hazard” substance per year.

Access data extracts and information releases from the Mass DEP website.