National Pollutant Release Inventory: regional synopsis for the Atlantic provinces, chapter 1

Introduction

The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) was established in 1992 to collect data on substances of concern in Canada. The NPRI is the only legislated, nation-wide, publicly-accessible inventory of its type in Canada. One of the fundamental objectives of the NPRI is to provide Canadians with access to pollutant release information for facilities located in their communities. In addition, the NPRI supports a number of environmental initiatives by providing information that assists governments and others in identifying priorities for action, encourages industry to take voluntary measures to reduce releases, allows for tracking of progress in the reduction of releases, and supports a number of regulatory initiatives across Canada.

Facilities owned or operated in Canada, which meet specific reporting criteria for NPRI substances, are legally obligated to report annually under the provisions of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA, 1999). This federal Act is the key national legislation for managing toxic substances in Canada. It provides for development of regulations and guidelines to manage substances determined to be toxic under the Act.

For the 2000 reporting year, there were 268 substances listed in the NPRI, 55 of which have been declared toxic under the CEPA, 1999 (referred to as CEPA-toxic). The number of NPRI substances continues to increase from the initial 178 pollutants reported in 1992.

The original 10-tonne manufacture, process or other use reporting threshold applies to 248 'core' substances; the remaining 20 substances have different reporting criteria because they pose serious risk to human health or the environment in relatively low quantities. The substances with lower reporting thresholds are mercury (and its compounds), 17 individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (dioxins) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (furans). Details on the reporting criteria are found here.

The NPRI only includes data reported by facilities that meet the reporting criteria. It is not a comprehensive inventory of all pollutants released to the environment from all sources. Factors to consider regarding the use of NPRI data are highlighted here.

The 2000 Atlantic Region NPRI Synopsis was prepared by Environment Canada, in collaboration with the Provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island.

Location of NPRI Reporting Facilities in Atlantic Canada

This regional synopsis presents a summary of NPRI data collected for the calendar year 2000 from facilities located in Atlantic Canada. The data contained in this document is current as of September 28, 2001, and may differ slightly from values published in the 2000 NPRI National Overview report or other NPRI documents.

TEQ denotes toxic equivalents