Industrial releases within the Great Lakes Basin: An evaluation of NPRI and TRI data

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:351204

Leonardelli, S ^[1]

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1. Environmental Canada, Downsview, Ontario (Canada)

This paper summarizes the industrial releases and transfers in waste of chemical substances from US and Canadian industrial facilities located within the Great Lakes Basin. Release and transfer data are tabulated for the overall Great Lakes Basin, and for the four shared sub-basins (i.e. Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario). A media breakdown of releases is also provided. Comparisons are made between the releases and transfers generated in the US and Canadian portions of the Basin. These comparisons are based on the information submitted by Canadian industry to the 1993 National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI), and on information submitted by US industry to the 1992 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). Only those NPRI and TRI facilities that are located within the Basin are included in the data presented. The methodology used to develop the data, which is applicable to any defined geographic area, is described. This paper demonstrates the potential uses and types of analysis that can be undertaken using NPRI and TRI data. Some highlights from this paper: Releases occurring within the Great Lakes Basin amount to 172,767 tonnes. Of this total, US industry accounts for 122,329 tonnes (70.8%). Canadian industry accounts for 50,438 tonnes (29.2%). The largest releases are to air, which receives 73.2% of all releases occurring within the Great Lakes Basin. Land releases (on site) account for 15.4% of total releases. Underground injection accounts for 7.9% of Basin releases. Water releases (3.4%) make up the smallest component of total releases. When air releases originating within the One-Day Airshed are taken into account, total releases to the Great Lakes Basin nearly double to 319,098 tonnes, and the proportion of air releases increases from 73.2% to 85.5%. The significance of air releases originating outside of the Basin is demonstrated by this data.

• OSTI ID: 351204
• Report Number(s): CONF-970677--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
CANADA
DATA ANALYSIS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GREAT LAKES
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
POLLUTION SOURCES
TOXIC MATERIALS
USA