Calculated 1993 emission factors of trace metals for Canadian non-ferrous smelters

Emission factors of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se and Zn from the Canadian primary non-ferrous smelting industry have been calculated from publicly available 1993 emission release data and metal production data. With a few exceptions, the calculated weighted average 1993 emission factors for the Canadian non-ferrous metals industry are between approximately 40% and more than 1500 times lower than published emission factors of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se and Zn used in the literature to estimate global inventories of emissions from the world non-ferrous smelting sector. Where comparisons are possible, these calculated emission factors validate, with two exceptions, the EMEP/CORINAIR values suggested to estimate release inventories from lead and copper ( + nickel) production; however, use of the EMEP/CORINAIR values for zinc production would considerably overestimate the releases from the primary Canadian zinc industry.