According to environmental lawyers Willms & Shier's newsletter, Canada: Environment, Energy & Resources Law (Jan 2008), Toronto Public Health is now seeking comments on a proposal that would require stricter reporting from companies that use and emit TCE and PCE. From the proposal being circulated by TPH:

In 2007, Toronto Public Health examined a variety of chemical substances that may be released from institutional, commercial and industrial operations in Toronto and identified 25 toxic substances of priority health concern. They include carcinogens such as cadmium, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde. These substances occur in the Toronto environment at levels that are of concern to health. For Toronto residents, emissions to air are the most important route of exposure to these chemicals, and hence pose the greatest health risk.

Although we know these substances are in our environment at levels that are a concern to health, we are missing important information about how these chemicals get into our environment. To be able to reduce the levels found in our environment we first need to know where they are coming from.

Canada has a pollutant tracking program called the National Pollutant Release Inventory, or “NPRI.” About 300 facilities in Toronto report to the NPRI. The majority of operations in Toronto that may use or emit chemical substances, however, are too small to meet current NPRI reporting requirements. Toronto Public Health estimates that more than 80 per cent of emissions to air of these 25 priority substances are not reported at all. The proposed Environmental Reporting and Disclosure Program would fill this gap in information. It will track the use and release of the priority chemicals from all sizes of operations.

Over the past two years, Toronto Public Health has examined similar programs used in North America and met with businesses, community organizations and other experts to decide what would work best for Toronto.

This document presents an idea about how an Environmental Reporting and Disclosure Program could work. It does not contain the actual text of a bylaw. It identifies elements such as the chemicals to be tracked, the types of businesses affected, what information they would be required to report and how the public could access the data. It also outlines some options for facilities to innovate, prevent pollution and improve competitiveness.

Download the full consultation document/proposal entitled Environmental Reporting and Disclosure from Toronto Public Health. The comment period ends February 6, 2007.