14 January 2013
OECD Report Examines PRTR Data Application, Use and Presentation
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has produced a report reviewing practices and gaps in how Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) how data is applied, used and presented in eight OECD countries.

It finds that many PRTR programs do not know how their data is used, and few have mechanisms for engaging users on how to better use the data and improve its utility.

OECD7 January 2013: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as part of its contribution to the Inter-Organisation Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC), has issued a report examining how different countries apply, use and present data from Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) in OECD countries. The report was released by the OECD Secretariat on 4 January 2013.

The report is an outgrowth of a 2011 decision by the OECD’s Task Force on PRTRs to identify gaps where information on this topic appears scarce. The information gathering was part of a project led by Switzerland and the US, and the report is based on survey responses from Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the US and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).

The report provides four inventories: available guidance on the use of PRTR data, geospatial information system (GIS) mapping systems of PRTR data; resources related to PRTR and risks, including hazard information for PRTR data; and activities related to pollution prevention/sustainability and PRTRs.

According to the report, many PRTR programs do not know how their data is used, and few have mechanisms for engaging policymakers and other users on how to better use the data and improve its utility. The report also identifies gaps in: the presentation of PRTR information with that of other data sets for risk ranking or exposure assessment, or providing guidance or tools on how to use PRTR data to evaluate exposure or risk; and lack of guidance on how PRTR data can be used to measure progress in preventing pollution or achieving sustainable development.

IOMC was established in 1995 to strengthen cooperation and increase coordination among its nine participating international organizations in policies and activities to achieve the sound management of chemicals in relation to human health and the environment. [Publication: Application, Use and Presentation of Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) Data]

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