National Pollutant Release Inventory

Are you required to report?

Cette publication est disponible en français sous le titre de "l'Inventaire national des rejets de polluants 2003:Devez-vous produire une déclaration? "

Disclaimer: This brochure is intended to determine if your facility is required to report to Environment Canada before June 1, 2004. For the complete reporting requirements, refer to the Notice with Respect to Substances in the National Pollutant Release Inventory for 2003, published on January 4, 2003 and its amendment published in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

The NPRI is a Canadian database containing information on annual on-site releases of specific substances to the air, water, and land, as well as disposals and off-site transfers for recycling that originate from industrial sources. The NPRI is managed by Environment Canada and currently tracks 323 substances. These substances are grouped into five different parts.

All NPRI data are accessible on the Internet at: www.ec.gc.ca/npri.

YES. The NPRI is not a survey or voluntary program. The legal authority for the NPRI is the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA 1999), subsection 46(1).

If you used one or more of the listed substances during 2003, you will need to determine the total amount of each NPRI substance at your facility during that calendar year. The substance may have been contained in materials used at your facility or they may have been produced as a result of your processes.

For substances contained in purchased materials or mixtures, one way to determine if you need to submit a report is to check your Material Safety Data Sheets to see if the substances listed on the following pages were used in your facility in 2003. You can use the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number assigned to each substance for this process. You can also check with your suppliers for assistance.

If you indicate on the attached reply form that you may be required to submit an NPRI Report, then a 2003 NPRI reporting kit will be mailed to you during the spring of 2004. It will provide more detailed information to assist you in completing your 2003 report to Environment Canada.

In addition, you can obtain the detailed 2003 NPRI reporting requirements on our web site at www.ec.gc.ca/npri.

Please contact your regional Environment Canada NPRI office as shown on the enclosed Reply Form.

NPRI Information Sessions will be held in the spring of 2004. Please consult the NPRI website to find out the locations and dates for these sessions.

The following specific substances are grouped into five parts based on their reporting criteria. These substances were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on January 4, 2003.

You may need to report for substances in this section if they were manufactured, processed or otherwise used at your facility in a quantity of 10 tonnes or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report these substances include: wastewater facilities, oil and gas facilities, chemical, plastic and paint manufacturers, manufacturers of wood products, metal fabricators, etc.

You may need to report for substances in this section if they were manufactured, processed or otherwise used at your facility in a quantity of 50 kilograms or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report these substances include: wastewater facilities, wood preservation facilities, metal platers and coaters, military bases, etc.

You may need to report for substances in this section if they were manufactured, processed or otherwise used at your facility in a quantity of 5 kilograms or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report these substances include: waste treatment facilities, pulp and paper mills, power stations, cement and lime manufacturers, hospitals, etc.

You may need to report for substances in this section if Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) were incidentally manufactured, and released or transferred from your facility in a combined quantity of 50 kilograms or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report these substances include: pulp and paper mills, oil and gas facilities, cement manufacturers, power stations, wood preservation facilities, etc.

You may need to report for substances in this section if your facility was engaged in one or more specific activities in 2003.

These activities include: incineration, metal smelting, iron and steel manufacturing, cement manufacturing, chlorinated solvent production, power generation, pulp and paper manufacturing, wood preservation, etc.

You may need to report for the substances in this section if they were released to the air from your facility in a quantity of 20 tonnes or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report these substances include: facilities with boilers burning fuels or waste, oil and gas facilities, asphalt plants, pulp and paper mills, wood product manufacturers, etc.

You may need to report for the substance group in this section if it was released to the air from your facility in a quantity of 10 tonnes or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report this group of substances include: oil and gas facilities, bakeries, painting operations, printers, waste treatment facilities, etc.

You may need to report for the substance in this section if it was released to the air from your facility in a quantity of 0.5 tonnes or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report this substance include: facilities with boilers burning fuels or waste, oil and gas facilities, asphalt plants, mining and quarrying operations, sawmills and wood products facilities, etc.

You may need to report for the substance in this section if it was released to the air from your facility in a quantity of 0.3 tonnes or more in 2003.

Examples of facilities that typically report this substance include: facilities with boilers burning fuels or waste, oil and gas facilities, asphalt plants, etc.

† The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number is the property of the American Chemical Society and any use or redistribution, except as required in supporting regulatory requirements and/or for reports to the government when the information and the reports are required by law or administrative policy, is not permitted without the prior, written permission of the American Chemical Society.

¹ "and its salts" - The CAS No. corresponds to the weak acid or base. However, this substance includes the salts of these weak acids and bases.

² "fume or dust"

³ "fibrous forms"

⁴ "Ammonia (total)" means the total of both of ammonia (NH₃ - CAS No. 7664-41-7) and the ammonium ion (NH₄⁺) in solution.

⁵ "and its compounds".

⁶ "friable form"

⁷ "and its compounds" except hexavalent chromium compounds.

⁸ "all isomers" including the individual isomers of cresol: m-cresol (CAS No. 108-39-4), o-cresol (CAS No. 95-48-7) and p-cresol (CAS No. 106-44-5).

⁹ "ionic"

¹⁰ "mixed isomers"

¹¹ "all isomers" including, but not limited to, HCFC-122 (CAS No. 354-21-2).

¹² "all isomers" including, but not limited to, HCFC-123 (CAS No. 306-83-2), and HCFC-123a (CAS No. 90454-18-5).

¹³ "all isomers" including, but not limited to, HCFC-124 (CAS No. 2837-89-0), and HCFC-124a (CAS No. 354-25-6).

¹⁴ "in solution at a pH of 6.0 or greater"

¹⁵ Includes nonylphenol, its ethoxylates and derivatives with CAS No.'s: 104-40-5; 25154-52-3; 84852-15-3; 1323-65-5; 26523-78-4; 28987-17-9; 68081-86-7; 68515-89-9; 68515-93-5; 104-35-8; 20427-84-3; 26027-38-3; 27177-05-5; 27177-08-8; 28679-13-2; 27986-36-3; 37251-69-7; 7311-27-5; 9016-45-9; 27176-93-8; 37340-60-6; 51811-79-1; 51938-25-1; 68412-53-3; 9051-57-4; 37205-87-1; 68412-54-4; 127087-87-01.

¹⁶ Includes octylphenol and its ethoxylates with CAS No.'s: 140-66-9; 1806-26-4; 27193-28-8; 68987-90-6; 9002-93-1; 9036-19-5.

¹⁷ "yellow or white"

¹⁸ Does not include phosphorus (yellow or white) with CAS No. 7723-14-0.

¹⁹ "(except when in an alloy) and its compounds."

²⁰ "all isomers" including the individual isomers of xylene: m-xylene (CAS No. 108-38-3), o-xylene (CAS No. 95-47-6) and p-xylene (CAS No. 106-42-3).

²¹ "and its compounds", except tetraethyl lead (CAS No. 78-00-2).

²² Does not include lead (and its compounds) contained in stainless steel, brass or bronze alloys.

²³ This class of substances, known as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, is restricted to the following congeners:
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS No. 1746-01-6);
1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS No. 40321-76-4);
1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS No. 39227-28-6);
1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS No. 19408-74-3);
1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS No. 57653-85-7);
1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS No. 35822-46-9);
Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS No. 3268-87-9);
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 51207-31-9);
2,3,4,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 57117-31-4);
1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 57117-41-6);
1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 70648-26-9);
1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 72918-21-9);
1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 57117-44-9);
2,3,4,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 60851-34-5);
1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 67562-39-4);
1,2,3,4,7,8,9-Heptachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 55673-89-7); and
Octachlorodibenzofuran (CAS No. 39001-02-0).

²⁴ Defined in Schedule 4 to this notice. This class of substances is not limited to the substances listed in Schedule 1 but includes all substances that satisfy the definition of volatile organic compounds in Schedule 4 to this notice.

* Indicates that no single CAS Number applies to this substance.

On-Line 2003 NPRI Reply Form

Note: The completion of the 2003 NPRI Reply Form does not represent your 2003 NPRI Report which is due on June 1, 2004. A 2003 NPRI Reporting Kit is needed to complete the 2003 NPRI Report.