Novel applications of Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory in sustainability analysis
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Authors
Berthiaume, Alicia
Date
2025-01-03
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Pollutants , Emissions inventory , Environmental sustainability , Canada
Alternative Title
Abstract
The purpose of this doctoral thesis is to explore novel applications of Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) as an indicator of sustainability in the context of the environmentally sound management of chemicals, per the United Nations Sustainable Goal (SDG) 12 (Ensure responsible production and consumption), toward improving it’s use in the domain. The NPRI is a pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR) legislated under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA)intended to provide a publicly accessible inventory of environmental pollutant releases. This thesis builds on a prior review of NPRI use by researchers after 25 years of data publication, which confirmed that while the use of NPRI data by researchers is increasing, significant gaps and opportunities remain to use NPRI for sustainability analysis. This thesis comprises three different study areas (presented over multiple chapters) designed to seize several of these opportunities. The first study area addresses a gap in understanding the risk of adverse impacts to environmental and human health from pollutant emissions tracked by the NPRI. The results show that the magnitude of NPRI emissions alone is inadequate for understanding these risks and establishes a more relevant risk-based approach to do so. The second study addresses gaps in the comprehensiveness of the substances covered by the NPRI through a case study on radionuclides released by Canada’s nuclear sector. The results demonstrate the feasibility of filling the NPRI radionuclide gap using existing alternative radionuclide emission inventories and set a precedent for filling other NPRI substance gaps toward a more comprehensive indicator of sustainability. The third study unveils new sustainability perspectives on pollutants going to industrial waste – data tracked by the NPRI but seldom used in environmental research. The resulting characterization of this waste-related subset of NPRI data provides new views on where pollutants in Canadian industrial waste are going, novel insights into Canadian progress towards SDG 12, and clarifies precedential opportunities to improve the use of this subset of NPRI data as an indicator of sustainability. From the overall findings of this work, I offer a synthesis of recommendations to improve the use of NPRI in three domains of sustainability analysis.
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Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution 4.0 International
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution 4.0 International