Explaining what emissions data means - the contextual information

What is contextual information?
Why have contextual information?
What other contextual information is on the database?

What is contextual information?

The National Environment Protection Measure for the NPI defines contextual information as information in the NPI database that contributes to public understanding of emissions data, and includes:

the health and environment effects of the substance, including toxicity profiles, environmental impacts, likely fate and transport of the substance in the environment, and other relevant effects
information on common uses of the substances including products or processes reliant on the substance
information on common anthropogenic and other sources of the substance
the chemical characteristics and intrinsic properties of these substances
the Chemical Abstract Series Registered (CASR) number of the substance and common synonyms and product names for the substance

Contextual information provides meaningful and useful information to NPI users. References to more detailed information sources on particular substances are included in the contextual information.

Why have contextual information?

The aim of the NPI is to provide information to the community, industry and governments about the pollutants released to our environment. To achieve this, the emissions information in the database needs to be placed in context.

The contextual information assists NPI users to understand the significance and scope of the data. This is important to fulfil the 'community right to know' goals of the NPI.

What other contextual information is on the database?

Other information on the database includes maps showing:

water catchment boundaries and major streams
physical features such as coastlines, swamps, lakes and roads
built up areas
urban road systems

Contextual information about each facility reporting to the NPI includes the:

main activity and purpose of the facility
location details
technique used to determine emissions