PROJECT

The NAPRTR project compiles and disseminates data reported by facilities to the three national PRTRs. Efforts are focused on adding value to the data through their integration, analysis and dissemination via the Taking Stock report and Taking Stock Online website. Incorporating information about the context of PRTR reporting, such as differences among the three programs, facilitates data use and interpretation. The Taking Stock Online searchable database allows users to explore pollutant releases and transfers from more than 35,000 facilities in North America, generate reports in a variety of formats; create maps and view them using Google Earth, and analyze PRTR data in the context of information such as locations of watersheds and population centers, using geospatial data from the CEC’s North American Environmental Atlas.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The NAPRTR project has contributed to national PRTR efforts, including the establishment of a mandatory mexican PRTR program and the publication of PRTR information from two mexican states. This collaboration has resulted in enhanced comparability and quality of reported data.

The public meetings of the NAPRTR project have served as a catalyst for dialogue among stakeholders to address local environmental issues of concern. For example, the meeting held in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2009, brought together representatives from civil society, industry, and federal and state governments to discuss chemical pollution in the community of el salto, and deficient PRTR reporting and access to information.

At the international level, the NAPRTR project serves as a model for other regional PRTR initiatives such as the Central America PRTR project, sponsored by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD). UNITAR has also proposed the development of an Arctic PRTR report based on the CEC’s Taking Stock publication.

RELATED CEC INITIATIVES

The NAPRTR project’s information resources and tools will support the Capacity Building to Improve the Environmental Health of Vulnerable Communities in North America project under the CEC’s 2011–2012 operational Plan. It also leverages activities and products of the North American Environmental Atlas and Pollutant Monitoring and Assessment work under the Sound Management of Chemicals (SMOC) program.

IMPORTANT LINKS

Taking Stock Online	Related Files	Taking Stock Survey	Previous Work

CONTACT

Orlando Cabrera 
Program Manager
Air Quality and PRTR
Email
514 350-4323