EPA  and
 the Organization  for
 Economic Cooperation and  Development
 The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel-
 opment (OECD) was established in 1960 to promote
 economic growth among its member nations, to pro-
 mote international financial  stability and  to expand
 world trade. Its 25 members include Australia, Austria,
 Belgium,  Canada,  Denmark,  Finland, France, the
 Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,
 Italy, Japan,  Luxembourg,  the  Netherlands,  New
 Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzer-
 land, Turkey,  the United  Kingdom,  and the United
 States.  Yugoslavia is an Associate Member.
   In 1970 the Council of the OECD set  up an Environ-
 ment Committee as a forum for discussion  of environ-
 mental issues and for cooperation in dealing with com-
 mon  problems. The Environment  Committee held a
 Ministerial-level Meeting in Paris in May,  1979, to assess
 the state of the international environment, to assess the
 actions  of their governments on environmental issues,
 and to discuss future policies and programs.  EPA Ad-
 ministrator Douglas M. Costle presided.
   The communique issued at the conclusion of the
 meeting confirmed progress made over the past decade
 in many fields. The report highlighted, in particular,
 achievements in the control of pollution in fresh water
 bodies and urban areas, reduction of the flow into the
 environment of certain persistent chemicals, the exten-
 sion of  national and regional parks and  the protection
 and rehabilitation of sites of social or cultural value. It
 said "these improvements in environmental quality have
 generated significant benefits, without  in most cases
 negative effects on the economy."
  The communique said,  however  that  " environ-
 mental quality remains a source  of concern in certain
 fields, such  as the supply and  quality of water,  in-
 cluding, in particular areas, drinking water; the adverse
 effect of the excessive  use of fertilizers;  the impact on
 ecosystems  of  the long-range transport of airborne
 pollutants; air  pollution by recently recognized pollu-
 tants; increasing noise  levels in some areas; the risk of
 accidents  involving  hazardous substances;  and, in
 general, the growing evidence of linkage between en-
 vironmental deterioration and human health." Reflect-
 ing growing concern over toxic chemicals, the Ministers
 called for a high-level OECD meeting in 1980 to consider
technical issues of toxic chemical control.
  EPA is actively involved in OECD projects involving
toxic chemicals. Among these is a project aimed at
developing international standards for good laboratory
practices, so that tests performed in one country may
be acceptable in others. EPA is encouraging OECD na-
tions to  adopt American standards for public releast ^f
health and safety data on toxic substances. These pro-
posals are largely due to the stringent import and export
provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Com-
mon testing and  regulatory standards  between the
United States  and  other OECD  nations will  greatly
facilitate implementation of that law.
  EPA is active in several OECD subsidiary groups. One
group will hold a seminar on urban transport and the en-
vironment in July, 1979, followed by a tour of American
mayors to European cities to inspect European concepts
of traffic control. Another group will hold a conference
on noise abatement  policies in 1980. Other groups are
working  on water  management, air  management,
economic issues, wildlife sampling and analysis,  and
pollution control for particular industries.
  EPA contributes to the work of the Nuclear Energy
Agency  of  the  OECD. A  particular concern of the
Nuclear Energy Agency is development of international
policies for disposal of radioactive  waste.  EPA  has
urged member nations to adopt land disposal methods
rather than ocean dumping.
                       f/EPA
                           United States
                           Environmental Protection
                           Agency

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