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Jody Rosenberger: Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)
1. Update on Canada’s
National Pollutant Release
Inventory (NPRI)
CEC – Public Meeting of the NA PRTR
Project
October 30, 2012
Jody Rosenberger
Environment Canada
2. Outline
1. Background on the NPRI – What it is, why it exists, pollution
data in context, how the data is shared
2. Changes to the NPRI over time – historical, recent and future
changes to requirements, and improvements to data access
tools
3. Recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General
Page 2 – October 30, 2012
3. About the National Pollutant Release
Inventory (NPRI)
• The NPRI is Canada’s legislated, publicly-accessible inventory of
pollutant releases (to air, water and land), disposals and off-site
recycling. It is Canada’s Pollutant Release and Transfer Register
(PRTR).
• The NPRI includes:
1. Mandatory reporting by facilities to
Environment Canada (EC) on their
pollutant releases and transfers; and
mandatory publication by EC of the data
received. (over 8 000 facilities and 366
listed substances for 2010)
2. Comprehensive air pollutant emission
estimates compiled by EC – national,
provincial and sector estimates from all
emission sources in Canada for specific
air pollutants including persistent organic
pollutants (POPs).
Page 3 – October 30, 2012
4. Why the NPRI Exists
• The NPRI is a major starting point for pollution
information in Canada. It exists to:
– Support priority setting and monitoring of environmental
performance measures
– Contribute to the compilation of pollution patterns and trends
– Provide environmental information in the public interest
– Fulfill international reporting obligations
• Publication of the NPRI is mandated under the
Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA
1999)
Page 4 – October 30, 2012
5. Canada’s Pollution Data in Context
• Data collected and generated through the NPRI is increasingly being
used to support other EC initiatives, including:
– The Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) to assess and manage the
risks from chemicals
– Risk management activities for sectors (e.g. Metal Mining Effluent
Regulations, Pollution Prevention Planning notices)
– Air Quality Management System to manage air pollutant emissions
– Air quality modeling and forecasting
• NPRI Data is complemented by other sources of information, for
example:
– Greenhouse Gas emissions data from the GHG Emissions Reporting
Program and the National GHG Inventory
– Monitoring Data (air and water quality monitoring, etc)
Page 5 – October 30, 2012
6. Sharing of NPRI data
• NPRI query site (Quick, easy to find information on a particular facility)
• Microsoft Excel flat file (most common fields in a simplified spreadsheet format )
• NPRI database – available in Microsoft Access format (Useful for custom
analysis for “technical” users (industry-level analysis, time trends, etc.) )
• NPRI Map Layers for use in Google Earth (Allow users to “explore” NPRI data
in an intuitive and visual way)
Page 6 – October 30, 2012
7. 2010 NPRI Facility-Reported Data
• Latest data available Total Releases, Disposals and Recycling (Off-site)
Reported to the NPRI for 2010
is for 2010 – released
March 27, 2012
• Highlights:
– More than 8 000
facilities submitted
substance reports
– Total releases (air,
water and land) fell by
19% from 2006 to
2010
Page 7 – October 30, 2012
8. The NPRI has expanded since its
inception…
• Since 1993, the first year Growth in Reporting to the NPRI, 1993-2009
of the NPRI, EC has:
500 10000
– Added over 150 450
400
9000
8000
# of Listed Substances or
# of Reporting Facilities
substances, including
Substance Groups
350 7000
300 6000
toxic substances and 250 5000
air pollutants 200
150
4000
3000
100 2000
– Reduced thresholds or 50 1000
established different 0 0
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
reporting criteria for
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
Year
certain substances # of Listed Substances (Left Scale)
and activities # of facilities reporting a substance report
• Changes over time available at:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=En&n=E2BFC2DB-1
Page 8 – October 30, 2012
9. Changes to Reporting Requirements for
NPRI – since 2005 (1)
2006
– Removed mining exemption except for pits and quarries
– Added 3 PAH species
– Added 13 substances to the list of ‘speciated’ VOCs
– Added ‘portable’ facilities (asphalt plants, PCB destruction
units)
2007
– Removed exemption for pits and quarries
– Added 9 PAH species *
– Reporting of dioxins and furans in grams *
– Added total reduced sulphur and road dust reporting
* related to CEC Action Plan for Comparability
Page 9 – October 30, 2012
10. Changes to Reporting Requirements for
NPRI – since 2005 (2)
2008
– Added titanium dioxide pigment manufacturing to the list of
activities for dioxins and furans
2009
– Tailings and Waste Rock reporting (added as of 2009, and
retroactively to 2006)
2010
– Removal of Sulphur Hexafluoride
– Removed requirement to report “anticipated quantities for the
subsequent 3 reporting years”
2011
– Reduced threshold for Selenium (and its compounds) –
reduction to 100 kg MPO and 0.05 ppm concentration
Page 10 – October 30, 2012
11. Potential Future Changes to the NPRI
Requirements
• The following changes are currently being considered:
– Addition of Naphthenic Acids (external proposal)
– Addition of 10 substances recently added to the U.S. TRI
(external proposal)
– Possible changes to reporting of particulate matter (one
threshold for all three fractions) and total reduced sulphur (air
only)
– Review of the NPRI substance list (possible additions,
threshold changes and removals)
– Review of reporting from the oil & gas extraction industry
Page 11 – October 30, 2012
12. Improvements have also been made to
data access tools, with more to come
• Recent Improvements, many of which were driven by input from
stakeholders
– Renewal of NPRI website – “Tracking Pollution in Canada”
– Availability of data as map layers for use with Google Earth
– Linkages between facility-reported NPRI data and other data (air inventories
and GHG reporting) in online search
– Simplified spreadsheet format for commonly used data (as of 2009)
– Addition of new geographic data fields
– Historical data available online back to 1993 (rather than 1994)
• Future improvements include a new online data search and mapping
tool under development to:
– allow integrated searching of NPRI and GHG data; and
– improve multi-year and other search and analysis functionality.
Page 12 – October 30, 2012
13. NPRI is responding to recommendations from the Office
of the Auditor General / Commissioner for Environment
and Sustainable Development (OAG/CESD)
• November 2009 audit report focused on data quality,
and whether the “data in the NPRI is fit for the intended
uses of its clients”.
• Five recommendations were provided, including:
– more regular consultations with NPRI data users;
– developing a strategy for improving data quality;
– improving understanding of coverage and compliance rates by
sector, and by substance (2 recommendations); and
– expanding contextual information provided to data users.
• EC is making progress on an Action Plan to address
each of the recommendations.
– Documents and information being made available on the NPRI
website
Page 13 – October 30, 2012
15. Thank You / Merci / Gracias
Page 15 – October 30, 2012
Notes de l'éditeur
Values for the new geographic data fields are assigned by Environment Canada based on validated latitude and longitude coordinates for facilities reporting to the NPRI.