Pollutant releases down by 15%-downward trend continues for third year

Releases of pollutants to Canada's air, water, and land decreased by 14.9 per cent in 1996, even though the number of facilities reporting to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) was up by 2.2 per cent from 1995. This is the third year in a row that the release of pollutants reported to the Inventory has decreased.

A total of 142,613 tonnes of pollutant releases were reported to the NPRI in 1996. Of that total, 69.3 per cent was released to air. Releases to land accounted for 9 per cent. Both are down from the previous year. Releases to water, which accounted for 9.1 per cent of the total, decreased much more sharply. In large part, the decrease to water is because of the closure of a copper mine in Port Hardy, British Columbia. Release by underground injection was the only area to show an increase, accounting for 12.5 per cent of all 1996 releases.

The 1996 report contains a new section on national, provincial and territorial analysis for toxic and carcinogenic pollutants listed on the Inventory. The analysis shows that releases of carcinogenic and toxic substances decreased in the two territories and in six provinces, while they increased in three provinces. No releases of toxic or carcinogenic substances were reported in Prince Edward Island. Additional details and a full analysis of releases by jurisdiction and by industrial sector are also included in the 1996 NPRI summary report.

¹Toxic substances are those determined to be toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act following a scientific assessment. Information from the International Agency for Research on Cancer was used to classify carcinogens, or suspected carcinogens.

In 1995, the five pollutants with the largest releases accounted for 51 per cent of total releases:

The Inventory also tracks transfers of listed pollutants in waste to off-site facilities for treatment or final disposal, which were up 24 per cent, to 64,626 tonnes, in 1996.

The NPRI was established in 1993 to provide information to Canadians on the release of 176 pollutants by facilities located in their communities. Participation is mandatory for all facilities with more than 10 full-time employees that manufacture, process, or use 10 tonnes or more of a substance on the NPRI list.

The 1996 report and a searchable database of all NPRI data are available on the Green Lane at http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/npri/npri_home_e.cfm.

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