2015 Summary Report: Reviewed Facility-Reported Data
- 1. Introduction
- 2. General Considerations When Using NPRI Data
- 3. Impact of Changes to Reporting Requirements in 2014
- 4. Overall Picture for 2015
- 5. Location of Facilities Reporting to the NPRI
- 6. Data on Direct Releases to Air, Water and Land
- 7. Data on Disposals and Transfers
- 8. Pollution Prevention Information Reported to the NPRI
- 9. Technical Notes
- 10. Annex – Breakdown of 2015 NPRI Facility Reported Data by Substance, and by Substance Category
4. Overall Picture for 2015
For the 2015 reporting year, 7,284 industrial, commercial and institutional facilities reported to the NPRI on substances released into the environment (air, water, land), disposed of, and/or transferred to other facilities for treatment or recycling. The number of facilities has decreased compared to 2014, which were 7,720 at the time of the publication of the previous version of this report. The NPRI program accepts late reports from facilities, and the current count for 2014 facilities reporting releases, disposals and/or transfers is 7,849.3
There are several reasons to explain this decrease:
- In 2015, 1,327 facilities reported that they did not meet the reporting criteria to the NPRI program – this number has increased compared to the 2014 value of 925 facilities. Most of these facilities were from the oil and gas extraction sector;
- In 2015, 50 facilities submitted a closure report;
- Late reports make facility counts from previous years differ when compare to past publications. In 2014, as of September 8th, 2015, 7,720 facilities had submitted a report. As of September 29th, 2016, one year later, 129 additional facilities reported releases, disposals and/or transfers of NPRI substances.
In 2015, 343 substances were reportable to the NPRI according to various thresholds. A facility is required to report the quantities of these substances released or managed if it meets the NPRI reporting requirements.
Figure 4-1 below provides an overall breakdown of the quantities reported to the NPRI in 2015. The total of reported quantities for all categories is 4,842,636 tonnes. The percentages in the chart are rounded.
Figure 4-1 Breakdown of the total quantities reported in 2015, by reporting category
Long Description
| Category | Reported quantities (tonnes) | Percentage of total reported quantities |
|---|---|---|
| Criteria air contaminants | 3,054,914 | 63% |
| Air (other substances) | 83,816 | 2% |
| Water | 127,025 | 3% |
| Land | 13,115 | <1% |
| Unspecified media (less than one tonne) | 391 | <1% |
| Total reported releases | 3,279,262 | 68% |
| Category | Reported quantities (tonnes) | Percentage of total reported quantities |
|---|---|---|
| On-site disposals | 269,572 | 5% |
| Off-site disposals | 98,680 | 2% |
| Treatment prior to disposal | 38,041 | 1% |
| Tailings | 738,022 | 15% |
| Waste rock | 79,647 | 2% |
| Transfers for off-site recycling | 339,412 | 7% |
| Total reported disposals and transfers | 1,563,374 | 32% |
Total reported quantities to the NPRI: 4,842,636 tonnes
- Direct releases represented 68% (3,279,262 tonnes) of total reported quantities. All percentages below are also based on total reported quantities.
- Direct releases to air accounted for 65% (3,138,730 tonnes). Direct releases to air include the following categories:
- Emissions of criteria air contaminants accounted for 63% (3,054,914 tonnes);
- Other NPRI substances directly released to air accounted for nearly 2% (83,816 tonnes);
- Direct releases to surface waters accounted for 3% (127,025 tonnes).
- Direct releases to land accounted for less than 1% (13,115 tonnes).
- Direct releases to unspecified media (less than one tonne) accounted for less than 1% (391 tonnes).
- Direct releases to air accounted for 65% (3,138,730 tonnes). Direct releases to air include the following categories:
- Disposals and transfers represented 32% (1,563,374 tonnes) of total reported quantities. All percentages below are also based on total reported quantities.
- On-site disposals accounted for over 5% (269,572 tonnes).
- Off-site disposals accounted for 2% (96,680 tonnes).
- Treatment prior to disposal accounted for close to 1% (38,041 tonnes).
- Tailings accounted for 15% (738,022 tonnes).
- Waste rock accounted for nearly 2% (79,647 tonnes).
- Transfers for off-site recycling accounted for 7% (339,412 tonnes).
Between 2014 and 2015, total direct releases decreased 3% (107,088 tonnes), and total disposals and transfers increased 4% (66,972 tonnes). More detailed information on these changes is provided in sections 6 and 7 of this report.
Footnotes
- Footnote 3
For the 2014 summary report, 7,720 facilities had submitted reports at the time of drafting the report, using data as of September 8th, 2015. Over 550 facilities subsequently submitted an update or a report for 2014. It should be noted that the NPRI reporting system is available year-round and that facilities can submit reports or corrected data at any time, regardless of the reporting year. Hence, as of September 29th, 2016, a total of 7,849 facilities had submitted reports to the NPRI for 2014. For the purposes of this report, all comparisons between the 2014 and 2015 reporting years will use the most current data for the 2014 reporting year. As such, values for the 2014 reporting year in this report may be different from those published in the 2014 report for the previous year’s data release.
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