Industrial facilities in North America are required to report their emissions of toxic chemicals to national databases called Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs). These databases are designed to track the quantities of chemicals that are released to the air, land or water, or transferred to another site for recycling, treatment or disposal.The Taking Stock report is based on pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs) from Canada, Mexico and the United States, which provide detailed information on types, locations and amounts of chemicals released or transferred by industrial facilities. The report supports a key objective of the CEC’s goal to provide information for decision-making at all levels of society. The publication of the eleventh edition of Taking Stock marks the achievement of a significant milestone in pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR) reporting in North America. For the first time, Taking Stock incorporates PRTR data reported by facilities in Mexico through the new Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes (RETC). The Mexican data, reported in 2004 and now publicly available online, allow the annual Taking Stock report to present a more complete picture of industrial releases and transfers of chemicals in North America. The report and its searchable database allow users the opportunity to compare and analyze the releases and transfers of toxic chemicals by location, chemical or facility. Users can also customize their search to compare releases to air, land or water.In English, French and Spanish.
