Since 1994, Canadian industry has been required to report on its releases of 176 listed
pollutants. In 1999, Environment Canada expanded the list to 246. Important as the NPRI is, it covers only stationary sources of pollutants; mobile sources are much higher. The recently released 1997 NPRI results show that stationary pollutants increased by 12.7 percent from 1996. The chemical industry still ranks number one among the major industries in on-site releases of pollutants for 1997, emitting almost twice the amount of second place paper and allied products industries. Metal industries ranked third. 67 percent of emissions were released into the air.
Alberta, which cut its environmental protection budget by 32 percent and environmental regulations by 50 percent, reported the three largest increases in industrial facilities in Canada. They are: Browning Ferris waste management, Agrium Inc., and Syncrude. Agrium Inc., is one of the largest producers of nitrogen fertilizers in North America.
On the positive side, companies in Ontario and Quebec reduced their overall emissions by about 15 percent, both greatly reducing water discharges (64 percent for Ontario, 50 percent in Quebec).
You can download the report at the NPRI website: [sorry this link is no longer available]
FROM
The Gallon Environment Letter
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