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                           United States
                           Environmental Protection
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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

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                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.
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