Taking Stock

The goal of the publication is to enhance the understanding of the sources, locations and handling of industrial substances to promote pollution prevention and support the integration of PRTR data into an overarching framework for managing pollutants in North America. [...] Sharing information and ideas on how to improve the completeness, quality, and comparability of PRTR data across the region is central to the North American PRTR initiative, as described in the Action Plan to Enhance the Comparability of PRTRs in North America. [...] Through the Taking Stock effort and ongoing engagement of stakeholders, the CEC maintains its commitment to promoting dialogue and collaboration on the subject of industrial pollution, and to enhance the public’s access to North American PRTR data through the Taking Stock Online website and searchable database. [...] In order to provide some context for the data, Taking Stock addresses the topic of risk, providing additional information about the factors that need to be considered to assess the potential for harm to human health or the environment from the release of a given pollutant; and through the incorporation of available pollutant toxicity equivalency potentials (TEPs) for air and water releases. [...] The special feature analysis on reporting by the mining sector reveals wide variations in data across the region – relating to the amounts and types of pollutants reported, and the types of mines reporting the largest releases and transfers.