What is Pollutants Release and Transfer Register (PRTR)?

A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is a national or regional environmental database or inventory of potentially hazardous chemical substances and/or pollutants released to air, water and soil and transferred off-site for treatment or disposal.

• The industrial or business facilities quantify and report the amounts of substances released to each environmental medium (air, water, soil) or transferred off-site for waste management or wastewater treatment.
• Some PRTRs also include estimates of releases from diffuse sources, such as agriculture and transport and from the end use of products. These data are normally compiled by environmental authorities.

PRTRs provide public access to data via the Internet, CD-ROMs, publications and annual reports.

• PRTR data may be presented geographically, either in a fixed form or interactively on Internet;
• PRTR data may be presented by industry sectors, by facility, by a chemical substance or groups of substances;
• Additional information is often provided to help better understand the PRTR data;
• National PRTRs may vary in terms of the hazardous chemicals and pollutants reported, industry or business categories that must report and the destination of releases.  

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Source: www.PRTR.net website. The website provides a global portal to Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) information and activities from countries and organisations around the world. The website aims to assist countries in the development, implementation and improvement of PRTR programmes. It has been developed and is maintained by the Task Force on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Environment Programme / GRID-Arendal.