ICHCW

Developing a PRTR System

The PRTR system enables us to know what chemicals, from what kind of sources,and how much chemicals are released for each year.

The PRTR system is now widely adopted and implemented absroad. In Japan, “The Act on Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion of Improvements to the Management Thereof” was established in 1999.The PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) is a system that (i) requires businesses handling chemical substances potentially hazardous to the environment to estimate the amounts of chemical substances released and transferred in waste, and to report the data to their local governments, and that (ii) the national government then compiles data submitted and makes the results public.

PRTR aims to establish the common background of risk communication among the government, the business operators and the public by providing data about releases of chemical substances to the environment. These data also help the business operators to manage their own amount of releases. In consequence, it can contribute to reduce the environmental risks from chemical substances.

Purpose of the PRTR system

The purpose of the PRTR system is to promote voluntary improvement of the management of chemical substances by business operators and to prevent any impediments to the preservation of the environment by taking measures for the confirmation of releases and transfers of specific chemical substances in the environment, while gaining the understanding of business operators and citizens.

Significance of the PRTR system

• Obtainment of basic data for environmental conservation
• Determination of priorities in the administrative measures for chemical substances
• Promotion of voluntary improvement of the management of chemical substances by business operators
• Provision of information to the public and promotion of their understanding of chemical substances
• Understanding of the effect of environmental conservation measures and the improvements made by the measures

Benefits of using PRTR system

What are the benefits of a PRTR?

The following are some of the possible used and benefits of PRTR s from the perspective of three main user group: government, Industry, and the publish and there were :

Government

A PRTR will provide comprehensive information to assist the government in addressing some data after it is designed and approval by royal government of Cambodia such as:

Providing information on pollutants being release and how much is being releaseand over what time period;
Identifying industries or facilities which are generating potentially harmfulchemical release in to the environmental;
Identifying geographic area of pollutants being release and how much of each substance is going to air, water and land.
Pointing out the geographic distribution of pollutant emission ;
Monitoring enforcement of current regulation;
Providing inventory data that related to chemical substance and environmental pollution issues for measuring national progress toward risk reduction and pollution prevention goal and;
PRTR system will reduce monitoring work and government expending while large Waste is decrease

Industry

The private sector, such as factories and industries, may wrongly believe that PRTR reporting of chemicals substance use, waste generation and emission will be a burden.The experiences from PRTR implementing from private sector of other countries show that PRTR is the very vital tool in providing key information for their trade implementing as below:

Providing information of level efficacy of raw material using and resourcessupporting in their production such as: chemical substance ,water electricity ,and fuel;
Identifying equipment leak and other inefficiencies that waste raw material and resources in their production system ;
Identifying types and waste quantity of their production and emission which transfer in to environmental .
Monitoring their production management such as: raw material ,semi-finish product, and final product  respect to the technical or not;
Altering level of losing raw material or recourse supporting production through releasing in to environmental and lost in semi-product and waste and;
Accessing information in production management ,raw material ,and waste which approve environmental quality by prevent pollution in industry and reduce waste increasingly. Additionally ,the industry gain benefit from expend reduction on losing raw material , water ,and disposal especially they can improve manufacturing process and reduced point source and fugitive emission in to environment or removing in site or off site chemical substance containing in solid waste and waste water.

Public

Regarding to the principle of agenda 21 that is “communities and worker have right to access information on chemical risks has its origin in a straightforward notion” those who are potentially exposed to risks from chemical are entitle to known about these risks so they can make informed choices and take appropriate actions. Thus, PRTR is the significant tool for ensuring community and workers can access information .Moreover, PRTR data is very useful in helping public access all information which relevant to harmful environmental cause    such as chemical disposal or hazard waste .So, the public will able to participate in making decision with governments related to environmental pollution preventing and finding any cause which harmful in to environmental as well.  

Cambodia PRTR Background

Cambodia PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register ) is an environmental database of potentially harmful releases to air, water and soil. It also includes wastes that are transferred for treatment and disposal from the site of their production. PRTRs are a practical way of implementing the public’s right to know and has proven to be an effective tool for environmental management by providing government, industry, and the public with emissions information. PRTRs have also been identified as a work area in SAICM’s Global Plan of Action becoming a broadly implemented tool worldwide on chemicals and environmental quality management.

A PRTR has several benefits to all sectors of a country or region. Governmental authorities may obtain an improved database for environmental data, obtain trend analyses and identify priority concern areas, regarding pollution and adverse effects of releases in human health. Industry can enhance co-efficiency, can obtain cost savings and may introduce new best available technologies. Civil society will have access to environmental data, awareness on environmental information will be raises and they could have public participation in decision making processes. 

In phase I, GEF, UNEP and UNITAR, Cambodia started a project was implementation in during 2009-2010, but the web was not created yet.

In May 2016, in cooperation with GEF, UNEP and UNITAR, Cambodia started a project involved in a global project on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) monitoring, reporting and information dissemination using Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR). During the implementation of this project, Cambodia have designed a national PRTR system through a multi-stakeholder process, including reporting of POPs during phase I. POPs control is a priority at international level and their elimination is being implemented in several countries. 

An important initial step in the process of designing a national PRTR system is to raise awareness among the various stakeholders regarding what a PRTR is, what opportunities it can provide, and the implications and responsibilities it holds for those who will be involved in and affected by its implementation. 

The implementation of a PRTR system and PRTR database management may not be effectively implemented without information technology introduced.  There are numbers of software that shall be incorporated for PRTR database management. Besides the application of Microsoft Office, other programs shall be introduced for data analysis such as SPSS, GIS (geographic information system).  In addition, other communication software shall be also introduced including networks, internet, website design programs (i.e. dream weaver, font page, etc.) and other necessary programs.

A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) brings information about which chemicals are being released or otherwise managed as waste, where, how much and by whom. Since 2016 Cambodia is implementing the UNITAR/UNEP project to establish a functioning Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) in the country. By 2018, Cambodia is expected to start the pilot testing of the PRTR system, together with the development of a number of regulation and guidance materials to assist competent authorizes and industries/facilities to carryout PRTRs. During the first cycle of PRTR reporting Small-Medium Enterprise (SME), particularly agro-industry facilities, may not be able to implement PRTR, but they are expected to implement and report PRTR data in the upcoming years.

Most PRTRs were designed to meet the needs of specific facilities, with less attention being given to the comparability of the data across different PRTRs. Consequently, many PRTRs have differing requirements in terms of which chemicals and sectors are covered, and what thresholds trigger reporting. In 2018, the Department of Hazardous Substances Management (DHSM) will review facilities and identify the most suitable one for carrying out PRTR system during the demonstration period.

Greater harmonization of PRTR data within country – as well as many facilities which are using national guidance to establish their own systems – would provide increased opportunities for a national analysis of pollutant releases as well as facilitate comparisons between provinces. Facilities are encouraged to implement the national PRTR harmonization strategies and tools to realize the benefits from harmonized PRTRs as they set up or update their own PRTRs.

This document is published under the responsibility of the DHSM of the General Directorate of Environmental Protection of the Ministry of Environment (MoE).

• Developing a PRTR System
• PRTR Reporting Requirement
• PRTR Benefit
• Benefits of using PRTR system
• Cambodia PRTR Background
• Register to use the PRTR online reporting system

PRTR Reporting Requirements

A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) provides annual data on the pollutants released by facilities on site to the air, water and land, or for disposal or underground injection; and transferred off site for recycling, treatment or disposal. The PRTR Cambodia initiative promotes public access to PRTR data to improve understanding of the sources and management of pollutants of common concern. The data used in PRTR System are reported by facilities to the Ministry of Environment. Efforts are focused on adding value to the data through their integration, analysis and dissemination.

Which Pollutants Must Be Reported?
Download list

The pollutants subject to national PRTR reporting requirements are listed because they meet certain criteria for chemical toxicity and the potential for risk to human health and the environment. Each PRTR system covers a specific list of substances: National Polluntant Release of Cambodia spans almost 83 pollutants.

The PRTR programs also feature pollutant reporting thresholds. Certain pollutants have lower reporting thresholds due to their greater potential for risk to human health and the environment. In general, the pollutant thresholds established by the PRTRs are as follows:

For Cambodia, a facility must report if it manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses (e.g., in cleaning industrial equipment) 10,000 kilograms (Draft of Sub-Decree)
Follow the Thredhold in First Draft of Sub-decree on Pollutant Release and Transfer Register..
To see the list of pollutants reported to the Cambodia PRTRs, please consult: [Excel File].

In order to provide more information about PRTR pollutants, the N-PRTR report and online database also categorize them as follows:

Known or suspected carcinogens, based on the World Health Organizations' International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) Proposition 65 list;
Developmental or reproductive toxicants, based on California's Proposition 65 list;
Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances, which have properties that render them a long-term environmental and health threat, even in small quantities;
Metals: Metals occur naturally, but human activities such as mining and smelting enlarge their proportions in the environment. The toxicity of certain metals and their compounds can depend on the forms they take in the environment.