On Developing Recommendations for Global Comparability

of PRTR Datasets

Stephen C. DeVito, Ph.D., R.Ph.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Washington, DC

October, 2012

04/10/23 1U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

04/10/23 2U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• PRTR Task Force developing recommendations for PRTR comparability;

• Intended mainly for emerging and future PRTR systems;

To make their data more comparable with:- one another, and- with older PRTR systems.

The Approach

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• Develop a list of chemicals to be covered;

• Develop a list of sectors to be covered;

• Develop reporting elements, e.g.;• Reporting thresholds;• Quantities to be reported

• onsite releases, offsite releases;• transfers

• Pollution prevention-specific information

The Approach

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Used Five PRTR Systems and Kiev Protocol on PRTRs asa Starting Point:• Australia’s National Pollutant Inventory (NPI);

• Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI);

• European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR);

• Japan’s Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (JPRTR)

•United States’ Toxics Release Inventory (TRI);

• Kiev Protocol on PRTRs

Progress to Date

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• Developed Long Chemical List;

• Developed Short Chemical List

• Developing Long Reporting Sector List

• Developing Short Reporting Sector List

Next Steps

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• Complete Long Reporting Sector List;

• Complete Short Reporting Sector List;

• Integrate chemical and sector work;

• Begin to develop guidance on global comparability of PRTRs.