TOXMAP offers several ways to create maps (listed below). Most of these maps can also be created via TOXMAP's Search page.

• Tabs and subtabs along the top of the page
• The "Quick Search" box to the left of the homepage map
• The "Combo/Define Map" tab
• The "Map Controls" area below the map

Tabs and subtabs

• Select the "TRI Facilities" tab for a map of all facilities that have reported to the Toxics Release Program (TRI) (http://www.epa.gov/tri/) for a specified geographical area since 1988.
• Select the "TRI Releases" tab for a map of on-site chemical releases of a specific TRI chemical. TRI data is available from 1988 to the year of the most current, final TRI data available from the EPA. Select subtabs above the map to change TRI chemical or to view a TRI year other than the most current.
• Select the "TRI Trends" tab for a map of on-site release trends for a specific TRI chemical. Select the Search subtab above the map to change chemical.
• Select the "Superfund" tab for a map of all Superfund Program sites. Select subtabs above the map to limit displayed sites to those containing a particular Superfund chemical or having a particular NPL status.
• Select the "Combo" (Combination) tab to create a map that combines TRI and Superfund data. You can specify what datasets to display and what demographic layer to overlay on top of this data. Click the TRI and/or Superfund checkbox, and optionally specify the type of TRI map to create, the TRI release year or NPL status(es) to view, and what demographic layer (e.g., US Census, Income, and Health data) to overlay. To limit the displayed Superfund sites to those that contain a particular chemical, select the "Search for a chemical at NPL sites" checkbox.
• Select the "Search" tab for a page to specify a variety of search options. See How can I specify more search options in TOXMAP? for details.

Quick Search

Use the "Quick Search" box to the left of the homepage map (http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/) to enter a TRI or Superfund chemical name, United States city, state, and/or ZIP code. Use the checkboxes to limit your search to only TRI or Superfund NPL datasets. All fields are optional; a map will be created based on the criteria you supply.

Next to the Quick Search area, click the individual maps of the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, Guam and the Marianas to create a TRI and Superfund map for the selected area.

Map Controls

The "MAP CONTROLS" appear below every map and provide short cuts for modifying your map. You can toggle amongst specific TRI map types, NPL Statuses, and whether or not to overlay demographic data. Additional links bring up pages to change the demographic layer, search for a chemical, define a combination map, or start over.

Getting details

After a map has been created, select either the "TRI facility details", "TRI on-site release details", or the "Superfund site details" link for a list and more detailed information about TRI facilities, releases, or Superfund sites on the map.

More information about creating TOXMAP maps can be found in the FAQ "What kinds of maps can TOXMAP create?"

In TOXMAP, a geographic region is a named collection of US states and/or counties whose boundaries are highlighted in red on a map. When a region is chosen, all TOXMAP maps show TRI and Superfund results only inside the specified region. In maps that show on-site chemical releases, the color of the circle represents the amount of on-site release relative only to other such releases in that geographic region. Other map data (such as roads, political boundaries, and demographic data) are visually muted on the map.

TOXMAP provides a variety of pre-defined geographic regions, or users can create and name their own regions. To set a region, click the Set Region tab on any map. Entering a location in TOXMAP's Quick Search or Zoom to a Place will not set or change your geographic region, but will zoom the map to that location. You can select "Region" from the Zoom To dropdown menu on the map to zoom to the geographical extent of your region.

Sometimes data will appear outside your region. This can happen when address or location data is inaccurate for a given TRI facility or Superfund site. See the TOXMAP FAQ "How accurate are TRI locations in TOXMAP?"

TOXMAP's Quick Search on the home page allows you to search TRI and Superfund data by chemical and to zoom the resulting map to a specified city, state, or ZIP code.

More search options are available by clicking the "More Search Options..." link or by selecting the Search tab (http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/toxmap/search/setupSearch.do). The resulting search page allows you to search a chemical (in either TRI, Superfund, or both datasets) and specify more search options pertaining to TRI and Superfund. TRI-specific options include facility name, release medium, and on-site release amount. Superfund-specific options include site name and Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score.

TOXMAP can optionally zoom the map to the area of your search results. Note that in some cases this will zoom the map to an area larger than North America (e.g., to include Hawaii or the Mariana Islands). The "Zoom To" drop down box will zoom the map to a state or other pre-defined map area.