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You too can be a pollution detective
September 13, 2000

Environmental Institute releases "how to manual" for accessing local pollutant information

The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) today released "A Citizens Guide to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) - Community Right to Know: How to find out what toxics are being released in your neighbourhood."

The 42 page Citizen's Guide provides "step by step" instructions on how to access the NPRI and use the data, as well as directions on how to interpret the data. The Guide also provides "real world" examples of how organizations such as The Concerned Citizens of Come by Chance and Area researched emissions from an oil refinery in Newfoundland and how they used the data to good effect.

The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy Executive Director Anne Mitchell said "The Citizen's Guide was released coincident with Environment Canada's release of the most current NPRI data set. With the new data on the Web and the new guide in hand, citizens across Canada can quickly and accurately research what pollutants are released at the factory in their neighborhood."

The National Pollutant Release Inventory, a powerful database of site specific information on the production and emissions of 176 polluting chemicals (25 chemicals on the NPRI list are known to be toxic or cancer causing), is as close as your computer.

The NPRI database provides:

• information on 176 substances.
• information about what pollutants and volumes are being released to the environment or shipped for off-site disposal, treatment or recycling.
• the ability to find data for all discharges from industrial facilities to a specific river or lake.
• a consistent database which allows comparisons over time-have the releases gone up or down?

Ms. Mitchell stated "Environment Canada's NPRI database is an extremely valuable tool for Canadians concerned about their health and the environment. CIELAP believes that the new Citizen's Guide will help Canadians better understand how to use NPRI data, and assist in reducing pollutants in the environment. This is a powerful and accessible element in the continuing campaign for health protection."

Le Guide du Citoyen est aussi disponible en francais

For more information contact:
Anne Mitchell
Executive Director
(416)-923-3529


The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy has for been commenting on and monitoring policy and regulatory changes related to the environment for 30 years.