v>EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Information Resources Management (3404) EPA/2ZW«4-02B Nov/Dec1994 INTERNATIONAL UPDATE interested countries. Completed in January, 1994, this paper detailed the advantages of developing PRTRs. The text detailed how different sectors of society, including the industries filing reports, learn important information. The Benefits Document also describes how PRTRs could result in reduced chemical emissions. GUIDANCETOGOVERNMENT DOCUMENT The second paper proposed by Agenda 21 is the Guidance to Government Document. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is re- sponsible forthe development of this text. The Guidance to Government Document will be a resource manual instructing governments on what elements to consider, from the types of chemical to include to data management concerns. Overa series of meetings in cities in Europe and North America, representatives from the OECD countries will convene to develop the various chapters of the docu- ment. The first two meetings, in Brussels, Belgium in January, 1994, and Ottawa, Canada in May, 1994, outlined the first two chapters of the guidance document. The final three meetings, to discuss the final chapters, will be held in 1995. UNITAR Agenda 21 assigned the United Nations Institute for Train- ing and Research (UNITAR) the job of assisting industrial- izing nationsto create PRTRs. Most industrializing coun- tries do not have the resources or environmental back- ground to initiate a project similar to a PRTR. Using the Guidance to Government Document, plus any other rel- evant material, UNITAR will provide guidance and technical expertise to the ministries responsible for implementing the PRTRs in the targeted countries. UNITAR has chosen five industrializing nations to serve as pilots for PRTR develop- ment. One of these five, Mexico, is of particular interest to the US, because a Mexican PRTR, combined with the PRTRs already operating in the US and Canada, would provide chemical emissions data for all of North America. ~v • * UNITAR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT Besides technical support to UNITAR, the US is providing financial assistance, in the form of a cooperative agree- ment. The cooperative agreement has been written broadly to accommodate not only PRTR development, but also otherEPA projects which would require UNITAR participa- tion. If there are offices within the EPA which would like to utilize this cooperative agreement, contact John Harman at (202)260-6395. INFOTERRA/USA National Focal Point Ftocycled/Racyclafala • Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Recycled Paper (50% Postconsumer) • Please recycle as newsprint From the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic Substances POLLUTANT RELEASE AND TRANSFER REGISTRIES Pollutant Release and Transfer Registries (PRTRs) is the international term for chemical emissions inventories like the US Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The requirements may differ from one country to another, but the basic element of PRTRs is that businesses file reports with their government on the release and transfer of chemicals to various media-including air, water, land, Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), and other off-site locations. While this information is greatly beneficial to the govern- ment, the truly revolutionary aspect of PRTRs is the concept of public right-to-know. The premise behind right- to-know is thatthepublicshould have access to information on which chemical- by what medium and by what amount-industrial facilitiesare releasing intothe environ- ment. Communities could use this data to identify their potential exposure to toxic chemicals. These public inter- est groups then could work with local industry to curtail the emissions of these chemicals. EARTH SUMMIT The impetus for developing PRTRs internationally came from the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Brazil in 1992. Agenda 21, the action plan which grew out of UNCED, provided the steps which should be taken to facilitate the establishment of PRTRs. The intent was to create the resources which nations could use to develop their Own PRTRs. The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) was identified as the organization which would oversee the development of these resources. Other organizations agreed to work with IPCS to undertake the various propos- als outlined in Agenda 21. With the experience gained from establishing and operating TRI since 1987, the US has the background and expertise to play an active role on these projects. BENEFITS DOCUMENTS Agenda 21 called forthe creation of two papers which would assist countries to develop PRTRs. The Benefits Docu- ment was written by a consortium of representatives from ------- NEW BOOKS The following titles may be checked out from the International Collection at the Headquarters Library: Alternative Agriculture. Committee on the Role of Alter- native Farming Methods in Modem Production Agriculture, Board on Agriculture, National Research Council. Wash- ington, DC: National Academy Press. 1989. /A/71 S494.5/165/W31989. Back on Track: The Global Rail Revival. Lowe, Marcia D. and Carole Douglis, Editors. Washington, DC: WorldWatch Institute. 1994. INTLHE1051L691994. Dredging Coastal Ports: An Assessment of the Issues. Marine Board, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council. Washington DC: National Academy Press. 1985. INTL TC223N3751985. The Economics of the Environment. Coates, Wallace E., Editor. Brookfield, VT: E. Elgar. 1992. INTL HC110E5E2551992. Environment and Democratic Transition: Policy and Politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Vari, Anne and Pal Tamas, Editors. 1993. INTL HC244 79E5181993. Environmental Economics: Policies for Environmen- tal Management and Sustainable Development. Tisdell, Clem. Brookfield, VT: E. Elgar. 1993. INTL HD75.6 75633 7993. Guide to Occupational Exposure Values. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Cincin- nati, Ohio: The Conference. 1994. INTL RA1229.5 G84 1994. Land and Water Resource Management in Asia: The Report on a Seminar. Sun, Peter. Washington, DC: World Bank. 1989. INTL HD1131L331989. A New Power Base: Renewable Energy Policies for the Nineties and Beyond. Kozloff, Keith Lee and Roger C. Dower. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. 1993. INTL HD9502 U52K691993. North Korea: A Country Study. Savada, Andrea Matles. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. 1994. INTL DS932 A/662 7994. Protection of Water Resources and Aquatic Ecosys- tems. Economic Commission forEurope. New York: The United Nations. 1993. INTL TD365P7681993. Strengthening Environmental Co-Operation with De- veloping Countries. OECD. Washington, DC: OECD Publications and Information Centre. 1989. INTL HC59.72 £5577 7989. Technologies fora Greenhouse-Constrained Society. Kuliasha, Michael A., Alexander Zucker, and Kerry J. Ballew, Editors. Boca Raton: Lewis Publications. 1992. INTLTD172.5T431991. Transboundary Movements and Disposal of Hazard- ous Wastes in International Law: Basic Documents. Kwiatkowska, Barbara and Alfred H.A. Soons, Editors. Boston: M. Nijhoff Publishers. 1993. INTL K3664A35 T71992. Using Oil Spill Dispersants on the Sea. Committee on Effectiveness of Oil Spill Dispersants, Marine Board, Com- mission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 1989. INTL TD427P4N38 1989. Water Allocation, Rights and Pricing: Examples from Japan and the United States. Teerink, John R. and MasahiroNakashima. Washington, DC: World Bank. 1993. INTLHD1695A17T441993. Water Resources Policy and Planning: Towards Envi- ronmental Sustainability. Thomas, Robert. Arlington, VA: ISPAN. 1993. INTL TD345 W381993. Water Supply and Sanitation Project Preparation Handbook. Grover, Brian. Washington, DC: World Bank. 1983. INTL TD153 G751983. Worldwide Emission Control Advancements. Society of Automotive Engineers. Warrendale, PA: The Society. 1991. INTL TL214 P6W671991. UNEP (202) (202) Referencempe?kj Head Librarian Elizabeth Bebrendt Reference Librarians Kerith McFadden (202) Felicity Hajjar (202) tNFOTERRA/EP3 Librarian 260-5917 260-5638 260-3638 260-5927 Lara Wiggert #02} 260-0357 INFQTERRA fe contractor : operated and managed by the Office of Information Resources Management (O1RM), information Management and Services Division (tMSD). Information Sharing Branch. ------- |