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
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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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Referencempe?kj
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Elizabeth Bebrendt
Reference Librarians
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Felicity Hajjar (202)
tNFOTERRA/EP3 Librarian
260-5917
260-5638
260-3638
260-5927
Lara Wiggert
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