International Activity
on Toxic Substances
and Pesticides
at  EPA
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide  Act
(FIFRA) provide the basis for EPA's activities in the
fields of toxic substances and pesticides. Inconsistent
regulation of hazardous substances from one country to
another,  inadequate data about the hazards of many
substances, and the severe threat which relatively small
quantities of some chemicals represent to human be-
ings and the environment have led to the development
of cooperative international efforts. The major forum for
United States'  activity has been  the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a
body composed of 24 of the most  developed nations of
the Western bloc.
  Both TSCA and FIFRA place certain requirements on
importers of chemicals to the United States, and also on
American exporters of  hazardous substances. EPA has
worked with foreign governments and domestic manu-
facturers to insure that provisions  of these laws affect-
ing international trade are implemented smoothly. EPA
is represented on a White House working group seeking
to develop government-wide policies for the export of
hazardous materials. This working group  may ask for
legislation to bring about consistent policies among
federal agencies concerned.
  EPA is engaging in discussions within OECD aimed at
coordinating action among the major producing nations
with regard to toxic substances. Already, many nations
have  passed their own  legislation  governing these
substances,  often modeled after  TSCA.  However, a
number of problems need to be solved if effective inter-
national cooperation is to be achieved. Among these
problems are:

• Testing  requirements.   International agreement on
parameters to be tested for—such  as persistence or
mutagenicity—would facilitate cooperative research. A
project in this area is approaching  completion.

•  Laboratory  practices.   Nations can  accept  one
another's test results only if agreed-upon standards of
laboratory practice are met. EPA  is  leading an  OECD
project to develop international  standards for good
laboratory practice.

• Nomenclature.  Nations differ on  how the risks  pre-
sented by toxic  substances should be described. A proj-
ect is under way to develop an international glossary for
such risk labelling.
• Confidentiality. TSCA requires that health and safety
data—but not trade secrets—be made available to the
public. Negotiations are under way to bring foreign na-
tions closer to American standards in this area.

EPA is involved in a number of cooperative research and
exchange  programs  with other nations, including
Japan, Germany,  Canada, France,  Sweden, and the
USSR, in the field of toxic substances and pesticides.
EPA also assists several United Nations programs in this
area. It maintains the  United States Focal Point for the
International Register  of Potentially Toxic Chemicals, a
project of the Earthwatch program of the  United Na-
tions Environment  Program. It has contributed to the
activities of the Codex  Alimentarius, a project of the
World  Health Organization aimed at setting  interna-
tional standards for exposure to toxic substances, such
as pesticide residues  in food. EPA is assisting in the
development of a  World Health Organization program
on  chemical safety,  which  will attempt to  monitor,
evaluate, and control the effects of chemicals on human
health,  and to coordinate research in this area.
                       v>EPA
                                                                                Unned Stales
                                                                                Envifonrrwntal Protection
                                                                                Agency

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