Emissions of Toxics to Air Data

• Mercury emissions to air, Canada, 1990 to 2010
• Mercury emissions to air by source, Canada, 2010
• Mercury emissions to air by province and territory*, Canada, 2010
• Hexavalent chromium emissions to air, Canada, 2003 to 2010
• Hexavalent chromium emissions to air by source, Canada, 2010
• Hexavalent chromium emissions to air by province and territory*, Canada, 2010

 

Mercury emissions to air, Canada, 1990 to 2010

Year	Mercury (annual national emissions in tonnes)
1990	35.0
1991	34.5
1992	33.9
1993	18.3
1994	12.9
1995	12.0
1996	13.0
1997	10.3
1998	10.0
1999	8.4
2000	7.9
2001	8.1
2002	6.2
2003	6.4
2004	6.7
2005	6.2
2006	5.3
2007	6.6
2008	6.3
2009	5.7
2010	4.7

Note: Emissions from natural sources (e.g. volcanoes) and open sources (e.g. landfill waste) are not included in the indicator. Hg emissions from products are included in the 2007-2010 estimates.

 

Mercury emissions to air by source, Canada, 2010

Source	Mercury (tonnes)	Percent of national emissions
Electric Power Generation (Utilities)	1.56	33
Incineration	0.95	20
Other Sources	0.65	14
Non-Ferrous Smelting and Refining Industry	0.54	12
Iron and Steel Industries	0.42	9
Cement and Concrete Industry	0.29	6
Petroleum Industry	0.19	4
Iron Ore Mining Industry	0.08	2

Note: Emissions from natural sources (e.g. volcanoes) and open sources (e.g. landfill waste) have not been included in the indicator. "Other Sources" include all the other industrial, residential and commercial combustion, transportation and other miscellaneous sources not mentioned in this chart.

 

Mercury emissions to air by province and territory*, Canada, 2010

Province or territory	Mercury (tonnes)	Percent of national emissions
Ontario	1.05	22
Alberta	1.01	22
Saskatchewan	0.83	18
Quebec	0.59	13
British Columbia	0.49	10
Manitoba	0.35	7
New Brunswick	0.14	3
Nova Scotia	0.12	3
Newfoundland and Labrador	0.10	2
Prince Edward Island	0.02	0

Note: Emissions from natural sources (e.g. volcanoes) and open sources (e.g. landfill waste) have not been included in the indicator.
*Mercury emissions for the territories are not shown in this chart because of their low values (less than 0.005 t).

 

Hexavalent chromium emissions to air, Canada, 2003 to 2010

Year	Hexavalent Chromium (annual national emissions in tonnes)
2003	2.8
2004	3.0
2005	3.3
2006	1.9
2007	1.6
2008	1.7
2009	1.2
2010	1.0

Note: The indicator only includes emissions reported in the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). Emissions come from facilities that are required to report based on the NPRI reporting criteria for Cr(VI). As a result, hexavalent chromium emissions presented here represent only a portion of the atmospheric emissions of this toxic pollutant in Canada.

 

Hexavalent chromium emissions to air by source, Canada, 2010

Source	Hexavalent Chromium (tonnes)	Percent of national emissions
Electricity Generation, Transmission and Dist.	0.49	48
Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills	0.19	19
Steel Product Mfg. from Purchased Steel	0.09	9
Coating, Engraving and Heat Treating Activities	0.07	7
Paint, Coating and Adhesive Mfg.	0.06	6
Aerospace Product & Parts Mfg.	0.05	5
Iron and Steel Mills and Ferro-Alloy Mfg.	0.03	3
Other Sources	0.02	2
Machine Shops, Turned Product & Related Mfg.	0.01	1
Other Fabricated Metal Product Mfg.	0.01	1

Note: The indicator only includes emissions reported in the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). Emissions come from facilities that are required to report based on the NPRI reporting criteria for Cr(VI). As a result, hexavalent chromium emissions presented here represent only a portion of the atmospheric emissions of this toxic pollutant in Canada. "Other Sources" represents a grouping of all other sectors with hexavalent chromium emissions that are not individually displayed on this chart.

 

Hexavalent chromium emissions to air by province and territory*, Canada, 2010

Province or territory	Hexavalent Chromium (tonnes)	Percent of national emissions
Alberta	0.55	53
Ontario	0.25	24
British Columbia	0.14	14
Quebec	0.06	6
New Brunswick	0.01	1
Nova Scotia	0	0
Manitoba	0	0

Note: The hexavalent chromium emissions indicator includes only emissions reported in the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). Emissions come from facilities that are required to report based on the NPRI reporting criteria for Cr(VI). As a result, the hexavalent chromium emissions presented here represent only a portion of the atmospheric emissions of this toxic pollutant in Canada.
* Facility emissions of hexavalent chromium were not reported for the remaining provinces and the territories.