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Article One
UK Pollutant Release & Transfer Register
The UK Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (UK PRTR) web pages launched on Wednesday 29th April. The site holds pollutant data from a wide range of industrial installations across the UK, including: refineries; power stations; and the comparatively less polluting activities that are regulated by local authorities (A2 and some Part B installations).The web pages will be available to the public at no charge. The PRTR pages, which are underpinned by a publicly searchable pollutant database, will hold pollutant release data to all media i.e. air, land and water.
UK PRTR represents an important step in creating awareness among the public and promoting access to environmental information. It fulfils an essential component of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (www.unece.org/env/pp/welcome.html) to which the UK is also a signatory.
In the first few weeks, visitors are advised to note that UK PRTR will continue to see updates to data as more information becomes available from operators. This may also mean amendments to data as a verification exercise is still ongoing. More background information – including FAQs - on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/prtr.