Commission for Environmental Cooperation

SMOC MeetingMarch 4-5, 2008Tucson, Arizona

Orlando Cabrera Rivera,Program Manager - Air Quality/PRTR

North American Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) Project:

Exploring Synergies with SMOC

What is a PRTR?

Pollutant releases of chemical substances to air, water, land, and transfers to disposal, treatment, energy recovery and recycling facilities – compiled into an annual register.

CEC’s North American PRTR Project

Goal: To improve our understanding of the industrial sources and management of chemicals in North America and promote the use of PRTR data for priority-setting and pollution reduction.

Activities:

– Provide information (annual Taking Stock report and website)

– Promote comparability/quality of PRTR data in North America:

• U.S. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) • Canadian National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)• Mexico’s Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de

Contaminantes (RETC)

– Seek stakeholder input via the annual meeting of the North American PRTR Consultative Group (general public, indigenous and tribal communities, NGOs, industry, governments, media)

– Promote participation of indigenous & tribal communities

North American PRTRs:2004 Reporting Year

Facilities Listed chemicals

Tonnes reported

Canada NPRI 8,600+ 325+ 1,800,000

US TRI 23,700+ 650 3,700,000

Mexico RETC 1,700+ 104 19,000

North American Total 34,000+ 5,500,000

Limitations of PRTR Data

PRTR data do NOT provide information on:

• chemicals released deliberately, such as pesticides

• all potentially harmful chemicals — only those on the lists of chemicals which must be reported;

• chemicals released from mobile sources, or from small sources (e.g., dry cleaners, gas stations)

• information on risks and exposures to humans & the environment from the chemicals reported.

CEC’s Taking Stock Report & Website

• Industrial Releases across North America to air, land and water

• Industrial Transfers off-site to recycling or other management

• Analyses by chemical, industry

• Trends, Special Feature Chapter

• Raise awareness of health & environmental issues

• Enable increased collaboration across borders & with industry

Reported amounts for 2004 (matched Canada-US data): approximately 3 million tonnes

Taking Stock 2004: Industrial Releases of Chemicals of Special Concern

Carcinogens: 157,000 tonnes

Top by volume Top by Toxicity Equivalency Potential lead styrene / formaldehyde styrene acetaldehyde nickel formaldehyde / nickel formaldehyde dichloromethane / lead

Developmental/reproductive toxicants: 114,000 tonnes

Top by volume Top by Toxicity Equivalency Potential lead toluene toluene carbon disulfide / nickel nickel benzene / lead carbon disulfide n-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone / 2-Ethoxyethanol

Uses of PRTR Data for Priority-Setting: Special CEC Reports

“Children’s Environmental Health Indicators”

Defining a core set of indicators and identifying associations between chemical sources, exposure, and health effects on children

“Toxic Chemicals and Children’s Health in NA”

Identification and analysis of key chemicals of concern in North America and their potential effects on children

PRTR/SMOC Synergies

– Information about common chemicals of concern (e.g., HPVs) can provide health and environmental risk and impact information for Taking Stock

–CEC’s SMOC program supports priority-setting and decision-making for managing chemicals of common concern across North America

–Taking Stock data provides information on annual industrial releases and transfers of chemicals in NA

–Outreach challenges are common to PRTR/SMOC: How can we best reach all of our stakeholders?

CEC’s North American PRTR Project

Contact:

Orlando Cabrera RiveraProgram ManagerAir Quality/PRTR

Telephone: (514) 350-4300Fax: (514) 350-4314Email: ocabrera@cec.orgwww.cec.org/takingstock