As of 2021, there were 320 pollutants on the NPRI list, including VOCs, toxics like mercury, lead, PAHs, dioxins and furans, etc.

Over 7,191 facilities from across the country reported 4.99 million tonnes of pollutants for 2021. These facilities include the chemical industry, oil and gas sector, electricity, mining and quarrying, iron and steel, and government facilities such as incinerators, landfills and sewage treatment plants.

The facilities must report on their:

1. release of pollutants to air, surface waters, and on land;
2. disposal on-site such as in landfills, land application, deep well injection, and to mining tailings and waste rock;
3. off-site transfer for treatment and disposal; and
4. off-site transfers for recycling.

Some of the NPRI’s valuable features are:

• it provides the public with facility-specific data for each pollutant;
• the data is reported by each polluter annually;
• the polluters are required by law to report and can be charged if they fail to do so; and
• the data is available to the public through the NPRI website.