Chemical Release Inventory at the crossroads

A major overhaul of the moribund Chemical Release Inventory (CRI) has been proposed by the Environment Agency. Plans for standardised reporting of releases against a list of priority substances have been welcomed by the chemical industry, which sees an opportunity to improve the comparability and credibility of its own environmental reports. But unless a new scheme - backed by adequate resources - is introduced swiftly, hopes that the CRI would provide a measure of the success of integrated pollution control (IPC) in reducing industrial releases will be frustrated.