48
Toxic Chemicals
The register requires reporting of releases of pollutants to air, water, and land, as
well as transfers of waste and pollutants, where emissions exceed certain threshold
values and result from specific activities. The register will also cover releases of
pollutants from fugitive sources, including transportation.
The pollutants reported under the E-PRTR include greenhouse gases, acid rain
pollutants, ozone-depleting substances, heavy metals, and certain carcinogens, such
as dioxins. Sources required to report releases include industrial sources such as
power-generating facilities, mining, quarrying and metalworking industries, chemical
plants, paper and timber industries, and waste and wastewater treatment plants.
Each country is responsible for collecting its industrial and diffuse emissions data.
The data are then consolidated and reported to the European Commission within 12–15
months of the end of the reporting year. The European Commission then publishes the
data within 16–21 months of the end of the reporting year (European Union 2008).
The full list of chemicals and reporting thresholds is shown below in Table 4.3.
Facilities that emit more than the threshold values stated in the table are required to
report under E-PRTR.
JAPAN
Japan established a PRTR that has required reporting of listed chemicals since 2001.
The stated purposes of the Japanese PRTR are to collect basic environmental data,
determine priorities for regulating chemical substances, promote voluntary improvement in chemical substance management by businesses, provide information and
foster understanding of chemical substances, and understand the effect of environmental conservation measures on chemical substance release.
The Japanese program requires the reporting of 354 chemicals called Class I
designated chemical substances, which are considered to be environmentally persistent over a substantial area and meet at least one of the following criteria:
• May be hazardous to human health or may adversely affect the ecosystem
• May easily form hazardous chemical substances through a naturally occurring chemical transformation
• Are ozone-depleting compounds
For most chemicals, if more than 1 ton of the material is used or manufactured
per year, it is considered reportable with the exception of the following 12 substances
called specific Class I designated substances, which have a reporting threshold of
0.5 tons per year:
Asbestos
Ethylene oxide
Cadmium
Chromium (VI)
Vinyl chloride
Dioxin
Nickel
Arsenic
Toxic Chemicals
The register requires reporting of releases of pollutants to air, water, and land, as
well as transfers of waste and pollutants, where emissions exceed certain threshold
values and result from specific activities. The register will also cover releases of
pollutants from fugitive sources, including transportation.
The pollutants reported under the E-PRTR include greenhouse gases, acid rain
pollutants, ozone-depleting substances, heavy metals, and certain carcinogens, such
as dioxins. Sources required to report releases include industrial sources such as
power-generating facilities, mining, quarrying and metalworking industries, chemical
plants, paper and timber industries, and waste and wastewater treatment plants.
Each country is responsible for collecting its industrial and diffuse emissions data.
The data are then consolidated and reported to the European Commission within 12–15
months of the end of the reporting year. The European Commission then publishes the
data within 16–21 months of the end of the reporting year (European Union 2008).
The full list of chemicals and reporting thresholds is shown below in Table 4.3.
Facilities that emit more than the threshold values stated in the table are required to
report under E-PRTR.
JAPAN
Japan established a PRTR that has required reporting of listed chemicals since 2001.
The stated purposes of the Japanese PRTR are to collect basic environmental data,
determine priorities for regulating chemical substances, promote voluntary improvement in chemical substance management by businesses, provide information and
foster understanding of chemical substances, and understand the effect of environmental conservation measures on chemical substance release.
The Japanese program requires the reporting of 354 chemicals called Class I
designated chemical substances, which are considered to be environmentally persistent over a substantial area and meet at least one of the following criteria:
• May be hazardous to human health or may adversely affect the ecosystem
• May easily form hazardous chemical substances through a naturally occurring chemical transformation
• Are ozone-depleting compounds
For most chemicals, if more than 1 ton of the material is used or manufactured
per year, it is considered reportable with the exception of the following 12 substances
called specific Class I designated substances, which have a reporting threshold of
0.5 tons per year:
Asbestos
Ethylene oxide
Cadmium
Chromium (VI)
Vinyl chloride
Dioxin
Nickel
Arsenic