With new information on chemical releases and transfers from Mexican industrial sources now available to the public, the CEC has created the first seamless, North America-wide map layer connecting citizens with point-specific industrial pollutant data in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Using the Google Earth mapping service—an innovative and free computer program that allows users to explore geographic data projected over satellite images and aerial photography—the CEC’s map layer plots over 33,000 North American industrial facilities that reported releases and transfers of pollutants in 2004, the most recent data available from all three countries.
This mapping tool allows anyone in our three countries—whether in Manitoba, Mississippi, or Michoacán—to find industrial facilities located near their homes, their workplaces, or their schools. They can learn about the pollution profile of each facility, including which pollutants are generated and how the facility handles them. Users can also compare the performance of facilities in their community to similar facilities locally, nationally, and, now, across North America.
Quickly find facilities in your area using search functions of Google Earth—by postal code, city name, etc.—or just zoom in using the navigation tools.
Clicking on a facility displayed in Google Earth generates an information balloon with the name and address of the facility, along with a direct hyperlink to full details on pollutant releases and transfers on the corresponding national PRTR website.
Explore industrial pollution placemarks in conjunction with other map layers developed by the Google Earth community of interest.
Information used in the mapping tool comes from publicly accessible “pollutant release and transfer registers,” or PRTRs, maintained separately by the three North American countries: the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) in Canada, the Registro de Emisiones y Transferencias de Contaminantes (RETC) in Mexico, and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in the United States.
Each year, using these same data as a starting point, the CEC publishes Taking Stock—a highly anticipated report that provides a unique “apples-to-apples” picture of North American industrial emissions and trends. For the first time in its 10 years, the current Taking Stock will be able to feature a detailed analysis of comparable pollutant data from all three countries.
