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A PRTR is an environmental database or inventory of potentially harmful releases to air, water and soil. Also included in the database are wastes transferred for treatment and disposal from the site of their production. In addition to collecting data for PRTRs from stationary (or point) sources such as factories and waste facilities, some PRTRs are designed to include estimates of releases from diffuse sources; these include agricultural and transport activities based on other data elements (e.g. number of automobiles). Data concerning releases and transferred are provided by the facility, and the type, quantity and affected environmental media must be reported. Data are then made available to the public.
The development and implementation of a PRTR system adapted to national needs represent an effective way for governments to track the generation, release and fate of various pollutants over time. By providing otherwise difficult to obtain information about the pollution burden, a PRTR plays an important role in the total environment policy of a government, encourages reporters to reduce pollution, and engenders broad public support for government environmental policies. As governments set long term national environmental goals to promote sustainable development, they may wish to use a PRTR as a tool to examine objectively how well these goals are being met.
One considerable benefit of a PRTR to governments, the public and industry is its ability to provide in one concise place, a set of data critical to governments for pollution prevention and control and for chemicals management. It answers the following questions: Who is generating potentially harmful releases or transfers to various environmental media- What pollutants are being released or transferred- How much is being released or transferred over time- What is the geographic distribution of the releases and transfers- With this information, government authorities can set priorities for reducing or even eliminating the most potentially damaging releases. In those countries with systems in place, this information has stimulated potentially affected and interested parties to ask questions of firms whose performance is significantly below normal for their sectors, and to demand improvements.
The PRTR reporting process itself has also promoted pollution prevention by indicating to those reporting (i.e. industry), especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, the amount of valuable material resources being released as pollutants and thus simply wasted. In countries having a PRTR system, such information has spurred firms to cut this wastage. It has resulted in avoiding costs, increasing efficiency and reducing environmental harm simultaneously. Corporate and environmental group spokespersons alike have said that a PRTR has had a greater impact than many regulatory programmes even though a PRTR does not mandate environmental improvements. Simply by making this information accessible encourages firms to take pollution prevention actions.
Increasingly, governments are setting longer-term national environmental goals to promote pollution prevention, chemicals management and sustainable development. A PRTR is a practical tool that can provide key data and information on progress so governments can examine objectively how well these goals are being met. As such, it is an instrument for promoting efficient and effective policies for environmental protection and sustainable development.
OECD's international work on PRTRs began in response to Agenda 21, the result of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Agenda 21 lays out specific goals and objectives for countries to strive to meet for the 21st Century. Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 calls on governments to implement and improve databases about chemicals including inventories of emissions, with the co-operation of industry and the public. It continues to say that industry should provide data on the pollutants they release, specifically those needed for the assessment of potential risks to human health and the environment. These data should be made available to national authorities, international bodies and other interested parties involved in hazard and risk assessment. One type of data referred to are emissions data which could be brought together in a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR).
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