EPA and Western European Countries Bilateral Contacts Most cooperative efforts between EPA and Western European countries place within the framework of multilaterial organizations, such as the Economic Com- mission for Europe and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. With the exception of the Federal Republic of Germany (described on a separate sheet), there are no formal environmental agreements between the United States and Western European countries, but informal bilateral contacts are frequently initiated through letter exchanges, and these can lead to visits by one side or the other for detailed discussions or for on-site inspections of innovative work. Some of these contacts are: • With Norway on means for prevention and cleanup of oil spills; • With France on EPA laboratory study of the biological effects of thermal effluents and trace metals; • With France on the biological effects of major oil spills, using the damage to the French coast from the Amoco Cadiz as a laboratory; • With Spain on air pollution problems and the environ- mental effects of mercury; • With Great Britain on advanced wastewater treat- ment and land disposal of sewage sludge. EPA sometimes enters into contractual agreements with European research organizations uniquely qualified in certain areas to conduct specific studies of environ- mental problems. Examples of this are: • The International Flame Research Foundation in Ijmuiden, Netherlands has done work on improvement of combustion process to reduce emissions from power plants and industry. • The Esso Research Center in England has done work on fuel cleaning and improved combustion processes. • The Karolinska Institute in Sweden has studied metal toxicity. • The Physics Institute of the University of Vienna has worked on advanced automatic aerosol analyzers and investigations of physical properties of aerosols. • The French Nuclear Research Center at Fontenay- aux-Roses has used diffusion batteries to study aerosol distribution and urban atmospheric aerosols. oEPA United Slates Environmental Protection Agency ------- |