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PRTRs (Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers) are databases of chemical releases to air, land and water from factories or other sources. Targeting a broad public audience, they support our right to information on toxic waste and air pollution. The Australian National Pollutant Inventory (NPI), for instance, not only provides the public with free access to data on its website but also helps facilities estimate and report emissions.
The table above (by Emmanuelle Bournay using data from the NPI, 2006) shows that, although different industries release different kinds and amounts of pollutants to either land or water, overall, 80% of emissions from the mining industry are to water. And often in the driest parts of our very dry continent! Australia is known as a very resource-rich continent, with much of our wealth derived from mineral exports and much of our electricity derived from burning coal. But who is paying the real cost to our environment? Will it be future generations that suffer the consequences of our consumption?
Minerals Council of Australia: Education resources Check out Oresome Froth and Redox Rocks and fact sheets about the minerals industry in Australia.
CSIRO Mining and Minerals
CSIRO: Centre for Environmental Contaminants
