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Pollutants

Our Work on Tracking Pollutant Releases and Transfers in North America

Along with the energy, materials and items they produce, North American industries generate pollutants that must be managed to protect human health and the environment. Each year, facilities report the amounts of substances they release to air, water, or land, send to disposal, or transfer for recycling or other management. We integrate and analyze data reported to the Canadian, Mexican and US PRTRs and make them available to the public through Taking Stock Online and the Taking Stock report series.

Tracking the progress made towards reducing industrial pollution to meet the UN SDG target 12.4

Countries are taking action against toxic chemicals emitted into air, water and land by industry. How can countries track progress made towards this target? The new OECD report looks at Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers data as a means to track toxic releases to monitor chemical pollution to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.4. This tracking system not only enhances transparency and accountability of industry but also measures progress towards SDG target 12.4.

New CEC Taking Stock report

New CEC Taking Stock report shows the fate of the 5 billion kg of pollutants released or transferred in Canada, Mexico and the United States every year!

Find out more about industrial pollution and where it ends up in our latest report — with a special analysis on the 335 million kg that are disposed of off-site. Our flagship pollutants report compiles and analyzes national Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) data reported by ~24,000 industrial facilities across North America.

Tools and Resources

Related Publications