United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Public Affairs (A-107)
Washington DC 20460
Volume 1.3
Number 7
September 1987
r/EPA JOURNAL
Taking a
Global View
-------
11
.
The rugged Portugese coast. The seeming timelessness of surf and shore make it difficult to realize how vulnerable our planet is, and how
fragile is the ecosystem that faces daily insults from a wide range of environmental problems.
Taking a
Global View
Depletion of stratospheric:
o/one...a pollution
disaster on the Rhino
River...a nuclear accident at
Chernobyl. The news is tilled
with reminders that this is a
vulnerable planet. This issue
of h'PA Journal takes a global
view, with articles on
whether we should feel grim
or hopeful about our
long-range environ mental
future.
Kl'A Administrator Lee M.
Thomas leads off the issue,
giving his views on whether
it is realistic to hope for an
environmentally healthy
planet. Fitzhugh Cireen
follows with an article
describing KPA's
wide-ranging work with other
countries on environmental
problems. Cri'en has been
KPA's Associate
Administrator lor
International Activities.
serving in the position for a
total of nearly 11 years.
The next three articles
illustrate how some
seemingly overwhelming
environmental problems that
transcend many nations'
boundaries are being
addressed. In one piece,
Mostafa Tolba, Executive
Director of the U.N.
Environment Programme,
spells out a plan to deal with
pollution emergencies such
as last year's huge spill of
industrial chemicals into tin;
Rhine River. Another article
reports on encouraging
progress in facing two
awesomely complex
problems: depletion of the
planet's ozone layer and the
ravages of El Nin'o. a
climate-affecting
phenomenon originating in
the Southern Hemisphere.
The third article explains
actions that could help stem
the loss of one of the Earth's
greatest resources, its tropical
forests.
The next two articles
report changes in attitudes
that can help lay the
groundwork for more
planet-conscious
decision-making. One piece
chronicles the emergence of
grass-roots environmental ism
from Indonesia to Brazil. The
second feature reports on the
recent decision by a major
global financial organization,
the World Rank, to give
environmental protection a
higher priority. Another
article presents an industry
viewpoint on the question of
whether there should be
uniform global environmental
standards.
The next article is based on
a major report by the World
Commission on Environment
and Development. The article
presents excerpts from this
sobering study of the
seriousness of mankind's
threats to the planet's
well-being, and in a separate
piece, former EPA
Administrator, William 1).
Ruckelshaus, a member of
the Commission, comments
on the report. United States
government reaction is also
included.
The final article on the
international theme is a
report from the U.S. Agency
for International
Development on how it is
using its aid dollars to
support the integrity of the
environment from Costa Rica
to Madagascar.
Two non-theme articles
include a report on EPA's
role in case of nuclear power
plant accidents and an
explanation of the Agency's
air emissions trading policy.
The issue concludes with a
regular feature, Update. Q
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Public Affairs (A-107)
Washington DC 20460
Volume 13
Number 7
September 1987
P/EPA JOURNAL
Lee M. Thomas, Administrator
Jennifer Joy Wilson, Assistant Administrator for External Affairs
Linda Wilson Reed, Director, Office of Public Affairs
John Heritage, Editor
Karen Flagstad, Assistant Editor
Jack Lewis, Assistant Editor
Margherita Pryor, Assistant Editor
EPA is charged by Congress to
protect the nation's land, air, and
water systems. Under a mandate of
national environmental laws, the
agency strives to formulate and
implement actions which lead to a
compatible balance between
human activities and the ability of
natural systems to support and
nurture life.
The EPA Journal is published by
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. The Administrator of EPA
has determined that the
publication of this periodical is
necessary in the transaction of the
public; business required by law of
this agency. Use of funds for
printing this periodical has been
approved by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget.
Views expressed by authors do not
necessarily reflect EPA policy.
Contributions and inquiries should
be addressed to the Editor (A-107),
Waterside Mall, 401 M St., S.W.,
Washington, DC 20460. No
permission necessary to reproduce
contents except copyrighted photos
and other materials.
Prospects for
Global Environmental
Progress
by Lee M. Thomas 2
EPA's Work
Internationally
by Fitzhugh Green 4
A Guide to
Planet-Conscious
Decision-Making 8
Dealing with
Industrial Emergencies
by Mostafa Tolba 9
Building a Consensus
on Complex
Environmental Problems
by Stephen R. Seidel 11
Saving the
Tropical Forests:
A Beginning
by James Gustave Speth 13
Awakenings at
the Grass Roots
by Jay D. Hair
and Barbara Bramble 15
Giving the
Environment Its Due
at the World Bank
by Barber B. Conable 17
The Global Environment
from an Industry
Perspective
by Albert Fry i;)
Challenges Facing the
Human Race: Excerpts
from Our Common Future
by Kathryn L. Schmitz 21
A Commentary
by William D.
Ruckelshaus 24
AID'S Dollars:
Reaching for a
Better Environment
by Norman Cohen 25
A Nuclear Power
Plant Accident:
Would We Be Prepared?
by Miles Kahn 27
EPA's Policy on
the "Bubble"
by Roy Popkin 29
Update 32
/
\ fc=5 /
•"..,..-,-'
Front Cover: Bathing in the
Ganges River-in India. EPA is
helping with environmental efforts
to proiect this famous river. See
article on page 4. Photo by
/ohungin Gazdur, Wood/in Camp &-
Associates.
Design Credits:
Donna Wasylkiwskyj;
Ron Farruh;
James R. Ingrain.
Editor's note: We urould like to
give credit to Jack Keller of the
Citizens Voice, a Wilfces-Barre, PA,
newspaper, for the photograph on
page 22 of the June issue of (he
EPA Journal illustrating the
Agency's work in researching (i
gastroenteritis outbreak in
Pennsylvania.
EPA Journal Subscriptions
The annual rate for subscribers in
the U.S. for the EPA JournoJ is
$11.00. The charge to subscribers
in foreign countries is $13.75 a
year. The price of a single copy of
the EPA Journal is $1.75 in this
country and $2.19 if sent to a
foreign country. Prices include
mail costs. Subscriptions to the
EPA Journal as well as to other
federal government magazines are
handled only by the U.S.
Government Printing Office.
Anyone wishing to subscribe to the
EPA Journal should fill in the form
at right and enclose a check or
money order payable to the
Superintendent of Documents. The
requests should be mailed to:
Superintendent of Documents,
GPO, Washington, DC 20402.
Na
Co
Str
Cit
ne
npa
eet
/
Firs
ny N
a,ddr
t. L-
arm
ess
iSt
or
Add
tion
al Ac
Idre
5S L ne
PL
£M
,E P
RIN1
Sta
te
Zip
Coc
e
I I Payment enclosed (Make checks payable to Superintendent of Documents)
I I Charge to my Deposit Account No
-------
Prospects for Global
Environmental Progress
by Lee M. Thomas
A view of the Valley of Hunzas in the
Himalayas, crowned by sunlight and shrouded
in shadow: "...environrnentatism on a global
scale has evolved to the point where its
momentum appears irreversible."
Fifteen years have passed since 113
governments agreed in Stockholm,
Sweden, to cooperate in attacking a new
threat to human welfare: the
degradation of the global ecosystem
from environmental pollution,
over-population, and mismanagement of
the natural resource base. We have
come a long way since then in our
awareness of how human and biological
systems interlock, and we have a far
more sophisticated grasp of what must
be done.
Is the goal of an environmentally
healthy world realistic? To answer that
question, one has only to examine the
extent and significance of what has been
accomplished to date. Governments
have responded to the environmental
challenge at national, regional, and
global levels with a broad spectrum of
institutional and programmatic
initiatives. Indeed, despite many false
starts, setbacks, continuing constraints,
and the emergence of new hazards, the
spirit of international cooperation has
steadily grown stronger.
In short, the community of nations is
slowly maturing. We have all suffered a
loss of innocence about "Earth
management." Laissez-faire may be good
economics, but it can be a prescription
for disaster in ecology. Only decisive
mutual action can secure the kind of
world we seek.
This coming of age is reflected in the
broadening of intellectual perspective.
Governments used to be preoccupied
EPA JOURNAL
-------
with domestic environmental affairs.
Now they have broadened their scope to
confront problems that cross
international borders (e.g.,
transboundary air and water pollution),
and threats of a planetary nature such as
stratospheric ozone depletion and
climatic warming.
Much of the ambitious and successful
planning for new institutions, programs,
and regulations was carried out in the
1970s during a period of relative
worldwide prosperity. It was inevitable
that this low-cost planning phase would
evolve into a period of implementation
and a time of major investments in
facilities, equipment, and capital
projects.
Unfortunately, just as the
environmental community was ready to
take action, the world economy began to
falter. The old "conflict" between
development and eco-investments again
reared its head. These unanticipated
constraints, however, tightened project
selection criteria, forced program
consolidation, and cut into marginal
and overlapping activities at both
national and international levels.
In-house assessment and planning had
to improve quickly.
The result is a more adaptable,
rational, and integrated network of
institutions, and a more efficient
approach to environmental
programming. Member governments of
international bodies are today making
more deliberate and coordinated
decisions on program priorities and the
organizations that can best pursue them.
That the international environmental
community has been able to adjust to
such resource fluctuations is a measure
of its strength, permanence, and
maturity.
Still, transboundary pollution is a
growing challenge. Air pollutants do not
honor national boundaries, and conflicts
over water rights between upstream and
downstream neighbors engender
opposition to the very concept of
mutual assessment and information
exchange. But ignoring the potential in
cooperation is counter-productive, and
delays merely aggravate underlying
problems.
The international community is
intensely aware of the special plight of
Third World states as they struggle
desperately against population growth, a
deteriorating national resource base, and
declining commodity markets to keep
living standards from falling any faster.
Our collective failure to even approach
the aspirations voiced on behalf of the
developing world at Stockholm has
been disappointing. If there is any good
news, it is in the new commitment of
developing states to environmental
goals. The concept of "sustainable
development," especially as recently
endorsed and elaborated by the World
Commission on Environment and
Development in their report, Our
Common Future, can serve as a unifying
theme and rationale for future efforts to
integrate environmental practices into
the development process. Neither can
long prevail without the other.
Indeed, environmentalism on a global
scale has evolved to the point where its
momentum appears irreversible. The
With an entire planet at stake,
it's hard to believe we won't
rise to the occasion.
world community has developed an
arsenal of tools that has been tested
repeatedly in the field and is today
much more sharply targeted, including
international planning conventions and
bilateral-multilateral agreements
covering a panoply of pollution,
population, and resource issues.
In addition, there is now in place a
network of multilateral environmental
organizations that have a much clearer
sense of their roles, greater incentive to
work together, and a burgeoning record
of achievement. These include the
United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), the body created after
Stockholm to serve as an environmental
conscience and coordinator within the
UN family; the Environment Committee
of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development; and the
Senior Advisors on Environmental
Problems of the Economic Commission
for Europe. Such institutions perform
unique functions that cannot be carried
out by governments acting alone or
bilaterally.
Of great practical importance is the
emergence of environmental
consciousness among multilateral
development banks, including the
World Bank and the various regional
banks. Whereas most attention in the
1970s was focused on environmental
policies and programs of bilateral
assistance agencies, now the emphasis
has shifted to the multilateral lending
institutions that provide the bulk of
external support to Third World nations
for large-scale projects.
Finally, there is no better reflection of
the coming of age of international
environmental cooperation than the
expanded participation of the
private-sector and nongovernmental
organizations. It is now clear to
everyone that only by consolidating the
intellectual and financial resources of
the public and private sectors can we
hope to maintain the global ecosystem
so it can meet a variety of social needs
over the long term.
There is a new and welcome
perception that industry should be
perceived as part of the solution and not
just a problem. The World Industry
Conference on Environmental
Management, jointly sponsored by
industry and UNEP in 1985. contributed
very strongly to a new climate for
cooperation among different sectors. It
illustrates the type of initiatives that
multilateral and multinational entities
are well-suited to undertake if they
exercise their collective imagination.
This special issue of EPA Journal
recognizes the importance of our natural
heritage to all Americans, and
acknowledges the considerable efforts
underway to preserve and enhance it.
This country remains a leader in
providing international technical and
financial assistance. U.S. experience and
technology continue to be widely sought
by others, and our policies, programs,
and regulations are often studied and
adapted.
Our unflagging commitment is in the
national interest, since it is obvious that
all societies are vulnerable to pollution
as well as to cumulative impacts on
global oceanic, hydrological, and
climatological systems. It recognizes the
unique benefits of international program
cooperation, sharing of data, and mutual
resource investments, thus cultivating
conditions for peace and prosperity, It
demonstrates a historic new willingness
by the American public to adopt a
planetary world-view.
Our national experience teaches us
that societies can "overcome" through
creative thinking, mobilization of
resources, and broad cooperation. We
now have at our disposal an
unprecedented array of institutions,
dedicated specialists, and technologies
to do the job. Our track record isn't bad,
and we're primed for the future. The
ecological payoff in the decades ahead
will justify any short-term sacrifices we
may have to make. With an entire
planet at stake, it's hard to believe we
won't rise to the occasion. The response
we give will determine our place and
reputation in world history, a
(Thomas is Administrator of EPA.)
SEPTEMBER 1987
-------
EPA's Work
Internationally
by Fitzhugh Green
Even in its first years, visitors from all
over the world came to EPA to learn
what we were doing, and this interest
has grown along with the scope of
EPA's activities. Indeed, the breadth of
EPA's overseas activities is remarkable,
including negotiating international
environmental treaties, maintaining
liaison with other health and
environment organizations, and
cooperating with and encouraging the
environmental initiatives of other
nations, particularly Third World
countries. In addition, the Agency-
works to spare U.S. industry from unfair
foreign competitors benefiting from
pollution havens.
This worldwide scope does not imply
a lack of interest closer to home,
however. In the past 10 years, the
United States has significantly improved
environmental ties with our two closest
neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
Acid rain, for example, is an
environmental issue that looms
particularly large in our relations with
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Canada, despite U.S. expenditures of
more than $200 billion since 1970 to
control air pollution. These
expenditures have resulted in a
significant decline in emissions of the
sulfur oxides linked with acid rain,
while the rate of growth of nitrogen
oxide emissions has slowed to almost
zero. While acknowledging the problem
of acid rain and its importance to both
of our countries, EPA's Administrator.
Lee M. Thomas, questions the validity
of certain Canadian assumptions and
data interpretations on acid rain.
Nevertheless, consistent with our
desire to maintain good relations with a
close friend and ally, President Reagan
appointed a special envoy to study the
issue. In January 1986, the U.S. and
Canadian envoys released their report
recommending a five-year, $5 billion
program. Two months later, at his
second summit with Canadian Prime
Minister Brian Mulroney, President
Reagan approved the envoys' report; in
April 1987, he announced his intentions
to fully implement the
recommendations of the special envoys,
building on existing technology
demonstration programs at the U.S.
Department of Energy and EPA. At the
spring summit this year, President
Reagan also proposed consideration of a
bilateral accord on acid rain.
Another bilateral achievement
between the United States and Canada
is their joint implementation of the
Niagara River Toxics Management Plan.
The severely polluted Niagara River,
which feeds directly into the famous
falls at the U.S.-Canadian border, has
long been a sore point. Ecologists from
both Canada and the U.S., as well as
Canadian officials, have accused the
United States of subjecting one of the
world's natural wonders to grievous
harm by governmental inaction. But on
February 4, 1987, officials of the U.S.,
Canada, New York State, and Ontario
Province signed a Declaration of Intent
in which they agreed to coordinate all
of their existing activities, establish a
common basis for assessing toxic
chemical loadings to the river, and
identify priorities for future control
measures.
One of the world's natural wonders—Niagara
Falls—is being tainted by toxic chemicals
feeding into it from the severely polluted
Niagara River. In February 1987, U.S. and
Canadian officials signed an agreement to
coordinate their cleanup activities aimed at
restoring the river and falls.
Restoring the Niagara River and
Niagara Falls, however, will also require
joint efforts to protect the Great Lakes.
Canadian and U.S. officials are now
reviewing the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement of 1978 with the intent of
strengthening and updating it with the
most recent scientific evidence. The
provisions of the new agreement will be
announced at a formal signing later this
year.
South of the border, the United States
and Mexico have also made significant
strides to correct common
The environment provides a
vehicle for East/West meeting
of the minds, despite
ideological and economic
differences.
environmental weaknesses. The
U.S.-Mexico Agreement, signed in
August 1983 by Presidents Reagan and
De la Madrid, has put collaboration
between the two countries on a new
footing. Before 1983, environmental
border problems were handled on an ad
hoc basis by U.S. and Mexican
Commissioners of the International
Boundary and Water Commission, as
well as through agency-to-agency
arrangements. Now, with the federal
governments of these two republics
cooperating more directly, there has
been substantial progress in a number of
areas:
• Mexico has redirected and/or treated
flows of raw sewage into the United
States from burgeoning Mexican border
cities, particularly Tijuana.
• U.S. and Mexican emergency response
personnel are now preparing a joint
plan to deal with accidental spills of
hazardous substances that may occur
within 100 kilometers on either side of
the Rio Grande.
• Strict controls have been imposed on
transboundary movement of hazardous
waste and hazardous substances across
the U.S.-Mexican border.
• Three large copper smelters,
responsible for huge quantities of toxic
pollution in the border area, have been
either shut down or compelled to meet
stringent emission standards.
The fact that this progress is being
achieved during a period of economic
hardship in Mexico reflects a major
commitment by that government to
international environmental
cooperation.
The Administrator is also proud of
cooperative activities underway
elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.
For example, in association with the
World Wildlife Fund and the
Conservation Foundation, EPA has
helped Brazilian authorities control a
critical air pollution problem in the
state of Sao Paulo. Industrial air
pollution there has so devastated a
tropical forest that it can no longer
prevent severe landslides on the slopes
of the Serra Do Mar mountain range.
The state of Sab Paulo secured a World
Bank loan earmarked to subsidize the
installation of much-needed
pollution-control equipment, with EPA
providing continuing technical
assistance in connection with that loan.
EPA also collaborates with the Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO),
a regional arm of the U.N.'s World
Health Organization (WHO), on
problems of pesticide management,
drinking water, and toxicology.
Especially important is an ongoing
health and risk assessment effort that
involves training and workshops.
translation into Spanish of EPA
material, and studies of the health
effects of certain substances in selected
populations (e.g., lead exposure in
Argentine children).
Worldwide, the Agency shares with
WHO a variety of experts and research
facilities and has boon designated a
"Collaborating Center for Environmental
Pollution Control." This designation
integrates EPA into many of WHO's
technical programs related to health
protection in both advanced and
developing countries. One of the most
prominent is WHO's tl.N. International
Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS),
which is co-sponsored by the United
Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the International Labor
Organization, The Administrator
strongly supports this effort to produce
environmental health criteria
documents, as well as health and safety
guidelines on a whole range of toxic
chemicals. UNEP also seeks hotter
methods for testing tin: toxicity of
chemicals and serves as a key toruin on
chemical accident prevention and
response.
One of UNEP's most important
international achievements is the
landmark agreement to protect the
Earth's ozone layer. Signed in March
1985 by the United States and 30 other
nations, this agreement represents the
SEPTEMBER 1987
-------
first time that the nations of the world
have joined forces to address an
environmental problem before it
actually produces measurable effects on
mankind. Despite scientific
uncertainties, the signatories acted in
response to growing concern that
continued emission into the atmosphere
of certain man-made chemicals could
significantly deplete the Earth's
protective ozone layer, with resulting
increases in skin cancers, including fatal
melanomas, higher incidence of
cataracts, and disruption of unknown
magnitude in crop yields and aquatic
ecosystems.
The chemicals most often linked to
stratospheric ozone depletion are
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), man-made
compounds used in aerosol propellants,
for refrigeration, and in insulation. EPA
has banned their use in aerosols since
1978, but other uses persist, both here
and abroad, including aerosol use in
some countries. Although the 31
protocol to be "the most significant
environmental act undertaken within
the past 10 years."
Other UNEP activities of EPA interest
have included the development of
international rules on the transboundary
shipment of hazardous wastes, the
formulation of procedures for writing
environmental impact assessments, and
the creation of several regional-level
agreements to protect marine
environments in different regions of the
world (for example, the recently
promulgated environmental conventions
for the Caribbean and the South Pacific).
UNEP is not the only forum for EPA's
international environmental efforts.
Another is the Committee on the
Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS),
sponsored since 1969 by the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
NATO member countries act as leaders
for particular pilot projects with
emphasis placed on projects that can
guide policy formulation and
The Mexicans de Cobre smeller in Nacozari, Mexico, some 55 miles south of the
U.S.-Mexico border. On January 29, 1987, the United States and Mexico signed an agreement
to control pollution from copper smelters along their borders.
signatories in l!Uif> could not reach a
consensus on actual measures for
controlling the growth of CFCs and
other ozone-depleting chemicals, two
years of further international
consultation, analysis, and negotiation
under UNEP's auspices have led to a
new protocol. Due to be signed this
month in Montreal, the protocol will
add regulatory "teeth" to the 1985
agreement.
The Administrator has long been
convinced of the seriousness of the
ozone problem and of the need for
international action. In fact, he
considers the prospect of regulatory
measures being incorporated into the
implementation in member countries, as
well as foster cooperation among them.
CCMS pilot studies have probed
health, the environment, and the
preservation of our cultural heritage,
including such topics as air pollution,
advanced wastewater treatment,
drinking water, contaminated land,
inland water pollution, utilization and
disposal of municipal sewage sludge,
the preservation of historic monuments,
and the conservation of medieval
stained glass.
CCMS also stages round tables as
forums for informal exchanges of
information and opinions by
policy-makers on environmental issues.
These round tables give NATO members
a chance to compare problems,
frustrations, and successes. A subject
recommended by the
Administrator—indoor air
pollution—will be the topic of the 1987
CCMS Round Table scheduled for this
fall.
Also prominent among multilateral
institutions is the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). The OECD
includes the industrial nations of the
West, plus Japan. Over the past 15
years, it has become increasingly active
in the environmental field.
The OECD sponsors a substantial
number of policy and technical efforts
in which EPA is a key player. OECD
projects are designed to integrate
environmental protection objectives
with considerations of economic costs,
benefits, and trade.
High priority OECD programs for the
U.S. focus on chemicals and
environmental protection; development
of an international system for hazardous
waste shipments; regional modeling on
the formation and transport of
photochemical oxidants; improved
methods for assessing the benefits of
environmental regulations; and
standardized environmental data
collection and reporting.
New initiatives have included a
ground-water protection project that
aims at the integration of agricultural
and environmental policies; a plan to
improve chemical accident prevention
and emergency response; methods to
help developing countries tackle
environmental problems; and review of
mobile source pollution controls.
Another area of major multilateral
cooperation is the global marine
environment. With the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) in
London, EPA helps to develop and
implement international rules to protect
the oceans from dumping, tanker spills,
and incineration of hazardous
chemicals. Officials of EPA, the
National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration, and the
Coast Guard have also helped to forge
new international regulations to reduce
pollution from garbage and plastics.
EPA often benefits from bilateral
cooperation with industrialized nations
on shared problems. EPA
administrators, engineers, scientists, and
lawyers exchange information with their
foreign colleagues and pursue joint
projects that enhance the Agency's
capability for its domestic duties.
Programs with the Federal Republic of
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and
Sweden are particularly fruitful.
Although smaller in scope, EFA's
contribution extends to many other
countries as well. At any given moment,
EPA personnel may be busy with
foreign colleagues on stationary source
control, economic incentives, hazardous
waste management and enforcement,
acid deposition effects, and improved
regulatory approaches. All this tends to
upgrade EFA's effectiveness at home.
In addition to the Industrialized
nations, EPA also works with Third
World countries. In many of these
nations, degradation of natural resources
and ecosystems stems largely from rapid
population increase, which—far more
than industry—carries the major threat.
Although population growth is not in
EPA's bailiwick, the Agency does assist
Third World governments on such
matters as pesticide management and
ground-water pollution, as well as urban
blight.
To streamline EPA's Third World
support, the Administrator last year set
up a Developing Countries Staff within
the Office of International Activities.
This staff has responsibility for focusing
EPA aid in the Third World and
determining how the Agency's limited
technical and financial resources can be
most effective. EPA has also
strengthened its links with international
environmental and development
organizations such as the U.S. Agency
for International Development (AID), the
World Bank, and the U.N. Regional
Banks in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America.
Another strategy calls for direct,
bilateral cooperation between EPA and
counterpart agencies in selected nations.
In India, for instance, EPA is
contributing to a multi-year cleanup of
the River Ganges, sacred to millions of
Indians but long a conduit for human,
industrial, and agricultural wastes.
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi has
The Aftermath of
Chernobyl and Bhopat
In December 1984, thousands died
in Bhopal, India, after inhaling toxic
methyl isocyanate gas accidentally
released by a subsidiary of Union
Carbide. In April 1986, a
once-prosperous region of the
Ukraine had to be evacuated as a
result of the devastating nuclear
accident at Chernobyl.
These two mega-disasters have
given a new direction—and a new
sense of urgency—to EPA's
international activities: they have
raised awareness of the need for
prompt reporting of environmental
disasters, whether in the immediate
vicinity of an explosion or leak, or
across national boundaries hundreds
of miles away.
In the immediate aftermath of
Chernobyl, EPA's Office of Air and
Radiation worked closely with the
Agency's Office of International
Activities to allay public fears about
the possible health impact of wind
currents reaching the United States
from the direction of the Ukraine.
EPA's environmental monitoring field
stations and labs, built to analyze
domestic and near-border U.S. air,
were suddenly harnessed to an
international task never envisioned
by their originators.
Increasingly, it is becoming
commonplace for EPA scientists and
decision-makers to view the whole
world as their "bailiwick." Of course,
it is essential to work through the
proper channels. In most cases,
environmental disasters can still be
contained within national boundaries
by sovereign governments acting
strictly on their own authority. But to
protect the United States from
unforeseen catastrophes, EPA and
other federal agencies have placed an
increasing emphasis on emergency
preparedness. Protective action
guides are being prepared for all
federal agencies, as are criteria and
standards for officials in state and
local governments.
EPA has also talked with the WHO
and OECD to "harmonize
international radiation levels." This
joint effort should provide consistent
criteria for when citizens should stay
indoors and store owners should
remove produce, dairy goods, and
other radiation-impacted foods from
their shelves when an emergency
arises.
In addition, the United States has
approved a convention recently
negotiated by the International
Atomic Energy Agency. Signatories
have agreed to provide early
notification after any serious
radioactive leak, as well as mutual
assistance in dealing with its
transboundary and internal aftermath.
vigorously attacked this issue since he
assumed power in 1984, and has
welcomed EPA's input. To date, six
EPA teams have traveled to India to
help assess the damage and devise a
remedial plan.
Since 1972, EPA has also increasingly
collaborated with the Soviet and
Chinese governments. The environment
provides a vehicle for East/West meeting
of the minds, despite ideological and
economic differences.
EPA has long been the lead U.S.
agency in a bilateral pact with the
Soviet Union. This agreement commits
the two most powerful countries to
cooperate in 11 different aspects of
environmental preservation. EPA
Administrator Thomas and his Soviet
counterpart, Yuriy Israel, co-chair the
agreement. Thirty-eight joint research
projects are now underway.
EPA is presently negotiating a new
research agreement with the Polish
Ministry of Environmental Protection;
the terms should be announced shortly.
EPA's Dr. Gary Waxmonsky, on detail to
the State Department as Science
Counselor to Warsaw, is participating in
this effort.
EPA also has close relations with
environmental scientists and regulators
in the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC).
The Agency and Chinese scientists have
examined a lung cancer epidemic in
southwestern China, and EPA is China's
partner in control technology, as well as
processes and effects research. The
results of the study were recently
highlighted in Science: magazine. This
summer, a Chinese delegation will visit
EPA headquarters to determine how an
environmental protection protocol
should be implemented.
Since EPA's inception in 1970, the
international community has looked to
us for leadership in environmental
protection. We try to ensure that this
mutuality of interest translates into
better lives for more people, n
(Until recently, Green was KP/Vs
Associate Administrator for International
Activities. He is now writing a book.]
(Editor's note: As the Journal went
to press, diplomats at an
international meeting were signing
an agreement to greatly reduce the
use of chemicals that break down
the protective layer of ozone in the
stratosphere.]
SEPTEMBER 1987
-------
A Guide to Planet-jConscjotJS Decisi
Environmentalism: A Worldwide Issue
US government, United Nations, research,
developmental, and environmental organizations
are joined in a worldwide effort to protect the
environment.
aking
Setting the Global Environmental Agenda
UN World Commission on Environment and
Development, Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, NATO
Committee on Challenges of Modern Society,
European Economic Community, bi-lateral and
national groups; all help establish priorities.
Financing
Environmental Efforts
Funds for developing
countries come from the
World Bank, regional
development banks, US
Agency for International
Development, national
governments, private
sources and foundations.
Banks insist on
environmental integrity
in funded projects.
Negotiating International Agreements
UN Environmental Programme, International
Maritime Organization, international Atomic
Energy Agency, and other groups help negotiate
environmental pacts.
Technical Assistance
Technical assistance is provided by UN and US
government agencies, foundations, and trade
associations.
Emergency Help
UN and national agencies like EPA monitor
pollution; UN coordinates international
response. US may provide emergency funds,
technical help.
Promoting Environmental Awareness
Hundreds of private research, activist groups
worldwide join UN, OECD, International
Chamber of Commerce, EPA in continuing
information, educational activities.
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Dealing with Industrial
Emergencies
by Mostafa Tolba
Slightly less than one year ago, the
Swiss chemical company Sandoz
spilled approximately 10 tons of
poisonous chemicals into the Rhine
River. An estimated 450 pounds of
mercury flowed into the river. Human
folly had allowed the accident to
happen, and human effort must clean it
up and make sure that it doesn't happen
again.
Fortunately, the question of
international pollution is receiving more
attention than it has in the past.
Gradually, international agreements are
being developed and are coming into
force to deal with major pollution
problems. There are gaps, however.
There are no binding global agreements
for dealing with hazardous waste or
with harmful chemicals.
In 1983, the OECD reported that an
estimated 2.2 million tons of hazardous
waste crossed the national boundaries of
its member states by rail, road, or
waterway for the purposes of treatment,
storage, or disposal. Overall, more than
10 percent of the hazardous waste
produced in the OECD countries crosses
an international frontier at some time.
At a rate of 100,000 cross-border
shipments every year, the OECD
averages more than one international
shipment every minute.
Yet there is no global agreement on
the procedures for handling, registering,
and disposing of these wastes. A
number of countries and certain groups
of countries have set in place their own
local procedures, but these are neither
standardized nor general. And while the
international community appears to
accept early notification as a concept,
there are no developed procedures or
obligations spelled out in national law
or in international agreements. The
Governing Council of the United
Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
met in June of this year and asked the
Executive Director to develop a
convention for the environmentally
sound management of hazardous wastes
and to study the feasibility of
developing a convention for the
exchange of information on harmful
chemicals in international trade.
Sandoz reminded us of the price we
pay for not listening and talking with
our neighbors and for not planning
ahead. Incompatible alarm systems,
warnings issued in the wrong languages,
uncertainty as to who were the
competent authorities in neighboring
countries: all these problems made the
Rhine disaster worse than it needed to
be. The inadequacy of contingency
planning and the non-existence of
mutual assistance programs further
worsened the situation. The existing
treaty calling for the protection of the
Rhine from pollution reminded us that
while the western world has made
substantial progress in handling cases of
chronic pollution, it is still largely
unprepared for emergencies.
There is no reason for the
international community to be
so ill-equipped to deal with
industrial emergencies.
There is no reason for the
international community to be so
ill-equipped to deal with industrial
emergencies. Procedures need be neither
complicated nor expensive; they simply
have to be developed and standardized.
A number of countries, such as the
United States, Canada, France, and the
Federal Republic of Germany, as well as
the Scandinavian countries and some
others, have developed procedures for
handling at the national level industrial
emergencies involving potentially toxic
chemicals. With suitable adjustments,
these procedures could be used as a
good basis in the formulation of
international agreements or programs to
be used by different countries all over
the globe.
UNEP has examined existing national
legislation and bilateral agreements
already in place, and is proposing a
global legal framework in which to
initiate the handling of industrial
emergencies. Within this framework, a
number of issues should be considered,
including early notification, provision of
mutual assistance, determination of
liability, assessment of environmental
damages, victims' compensation, and
the availability and utility of insurance.
Given the complexity of these issues,
the two that can and should be tackled
most readily are early notification and
provision of mutual assistance.
Notification and assistance pose very
different problems to the international
community, problems that should
probably be dealt with by two separate
but harmonized legal instruments. The
process of notification poses
considerably less intricate obligations
than the provision of assistance.
Countries may be willing to "sign on"
immediately if notification is all that is
required. If the obligation to notify is
linked to the obligation to provide
assistance, countries—particularly poor
countries that may lack the means to
provide assistance—may delay or even
decline to become parties to such an
agreement.
In addition to the two conventions,
UNEP is proposing that nations be
helped in developing Industrial
Emergency Preparedness Programs at
the community level. Again, these
programs would be shaped from
schemes already worked out by various
national governments and groups such
as the Chemical Manufacturers
Association. They would enable
government, industry, and local
authorities to craft their own programs
based on a tried and tested model.
The goal of the preparedness program
would be to assure that communities
identify potential industrial hazards and
be prepared to prevent them if possible,
but if not, to deal effectively with
accidental releases of acutely toxic
chemicals. Developing community
SEPTEMBER 1987
-------
awareness and contingency planning
would be essential parts of that
program.
As a first stop, government,
community leaders, and industry would
work together to identify potential
industrial hazards in their communities
and to outline precautions that could be;
taken to limit this threat. In cooperation
with industrial interests and civil
authorities, community leaders would
prepare and carry out public awareness
activities, including the development
and dissemination of an emergency
response contingency plan.
All three initiatives emphasize
minimum regulation and maximum
voluntary participation. Because the
preparedness program would be
developed and carried out at the local
level, no international instrument would
be needed at all.
At UNEP's Governing Council in June,
participating governments reviewed
Swiss firemen battle an early morning blaze at
the Sandoz chemical plant in Muttenz near
Basel, Switzerland. While the fire destroyed
some 500 tons of chemicals, another 10 tons
of contaminants emptied into the Rhine River,
causing one of the most serious spills of
hazardous pollutants in recent times.
these proposals and indicated a desire
to push ahead with them. A number of
international organizations and industry
groups have also expressed their
support.
The UNEP initiative is meant as a
complement to national actions.
Governments will take appropriate
actions regarding preventing and
dealing with industrial accidents
according to their own judgment.
At the international level, however,
these actions should be coordinated.
Adopting reasonably similar procedures
and contingency plans at the local level
would facilitate harmonized approaches
when more than one community is
affected or when transboundary
accidents occur. A little more
forethought and planning could prevent
many chemical disasters and could limit
the effects of many others. More than a
financial commitment, the international
community is looking for a political
commitment: a commitment that
indicates that governments accept that
their actions can and do affect the
environment of their neighbors and that
they are willing to share with their
neighbors responsibility for shared
problems.
We have the means now to take the
first steps to address accidents that are a
major worldwide concern. It remains to
be seen whether we will act before the
spur of tragedy prods us again, a
(Dr. Tolba, an Egyptian microbiologist,
is the Executive Director of the United
Nations Environment Programme.]
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Building a Consensus on
Complex Environmental
Problems
by Stephen R. Seidel
Watching a trout dart through
pristine waters along a shallow
river bottom. Gazing through a crystal
clear blue sky across a valley toward a
distant mountain range. The simplest
aspects of our environment are often the
most appealing. Yet environmental
problems can be strikingly complex.
Developing solutions to them present
some of the biggest challenges to our
future prosperity.
Before the first national pollution
lawS were drafted, if you or your
property suffered damage from someone
else's pollution, you could go to the
local magistrate and sue. This remedy
was perfectly suitable when waste from
cows or households was the principal
source of pollution. But as industries
expanded and farmsteads grew into
urban centers, the need developed for
state and then national environmental
requirements.
We now find that the complexity of
environmental problems has increased
dramatically in several dimensions.
First, it is no longer a simple matter to
demonstrate cause and effect. For
example, studies to predict the potential
adverse effects of pollutants now
frequently involve complex modeling of
ecosystems, the atmosphere, and their
interactions. Furthermore, through
medical advances, we now realize that
many harmful effects from exposure to
pollutants will surface only after a
latency period of several decades.
Increasingly, environmental
policy-makers find themselves turning
to the scientific community for answers
that may not yet exist.
Second, with advanced
industrialization, the local pollution
problems from the farm turned first into
national problems, and soon after that
into regional or global problems.
Climate changes (the greenhouse effect),
stratospheric ozone depletion, and
marine pollution are examples of recent
environmental problems that are not
limited by jurisdictional boundaries.
Given the potentially enormous risks.
these problems cannot be ignored.
Finally, harmony between economic
prosperity and environmental
well-being remains an elusive goal. For
example, in many developing nations,
the basic need to expand food
production continues to jeopardize
forest ecosystems. In developing
countries, growing prosperity has
produced problems of waste disposal
and increased reliance on potentially
harmful chemicals. Progress toward
"sustainable growth," as described in
the recent report of the United Nations'
World Commission on Environment and
Development, is essential for developing
and industrialized nations alike.
Will our seeming propensity for
creating new and more complex
environmental problems overwhelm our
ability to find and implement solutions?
Given the significant efforts and initial
successes of the past few years, there is
some basis for optimism. Although
much more needs to be done, the
groundwork exists for dealing with
current and future problems in a timely
and effective manner.
Instead of listing the scores of
international environmental efforts that
are now underway, it might be useful to
examine two in some detail. Recent
activities related to protecting the
earth's stratospheric ozone layer and to
better understanding climate shifts
related to the El Nino phenomenon
provide illustrations of nations working
together toward improving our global
environment.
The ozone problem has all the
characteristics of the new generation of
environmental hazards. It is
scientifically complex. The ominous
discovery of the Antarctic "ozone hole"
caught the research community
completely by surprise. The "ozone
hole" is so called because it has been
the site of seasonal reductions of up to
50 percent in stratospheric ozone levels.
These reductions have occurred during
the Antarctic spring (August and
September) for the past 10 years. It is a
global problem, and it strikes at the
balance between environmental
protection and our quality of life.
The earth's ozone layer blocks out
most of the sun's damaging ultraviolet
radiation. If this ozone layer is depleted,
scientific evidence suggests the
consequences will be increased skin
cancers, damage to crops and aquatic
organisms, and other environmental
problems. All nations will be
affected, not just those using
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the family
of chemicals that scientists believe are
linked to ozone depletion. CFCs are
used in many consumer goods,
including refrigerators, computers, and
air conditioners.
Yet the nations of the world appear to
be on the verge of an agreement to
substantially phase down global use of
these chemicals. Following several years
of negotiations under the auspices of the
United Nations Environmental
Programme, an agreement will likely be
concluded at a Diplomatic Conference
scheduled for mid-September 1987.
Most if not all of the major
CFC-producing nations and many
developing nations are likely to
participate in this treaty.
An agreement now seems possible for
several reasons. Through an elaborate
series of international meetings and
joint economic and scientific
assessment, policy-makers now
understand and agree that despite
remaining scientific uncertainties, the
large potential risks of ozone depletion
warrant action. They also seem to
understand that prudent action now
will not mean the elimination of
consumer products that rely on CFCs,
but instead will provide the needed
impetus for industry to develop
environmentally safe alternatives. An
agreement on stratospheric ozone could
SEPTEMBER 1987
11
-------
A torrent of water rushes through downtown Salt Lake City, the product of a snow melt from Utah's Wasatch Range caused by the
phenomenon known as "El Nino." This naturally occurring climatic condition triggers floods and monsoons, drought and fire.
serve as a model for dealing with
similar global pollution problems.
Unlike stratospheric: ozone depletion.
the El Nino phenomenon does not result
from human activities but involves a
naturally occurring sequence of changes
that begins every couple of years in the
atmosphere and oceans of the Southern
Hemisphere and dramatically affects
most of the world's climate. The
Spanish term "El Nino" refers to "the
child" (Christ) because'this climate
event typically begins around Christmas
time.
Although much remains to he learned
about El Nino, it appears to begin with a
shift in the relative atmospheric
pressures above two oceans in the
Southern Hemisphere, which alters the
magnitude and sometimes even the
direction of the winds. In turn, these
changes reverberate throughout the
climate system, altering ocean
temperatures and currents, wind and
storm patterns, the timing and
magnitude of monsoons, and the
occurrence of floods and droughts.
Some episocies of El Nino involve far
more dramatic changes in climate than
others. The recent event in 1982 was
one of the most severe on record.
During that period, climatic anomalies
became commonplace in regions
spanning most of the globe. For
example, Australia suffered one of its
worst droughts in 200 years, with
estimated losses of $2 billion in
agriculture and livestock. The coast of
California experienced widespread
flooding and large property losses from
coastal storms, while drought worsened
throughout Africa, and rainfall
accompanying the monsoons in India
was diminished. Although no estimate
of the overall human and economic
losses exists, the numbers would surely
be staggering.
The El Nino phenomenon involves
exceedingly difficult scientific issues.
The research community has come a
long way in understanding its causes,
but many questions remain. Its effects
clearly go well beyond national
boundaries, and its economic impacts
strike at the very heart of many nations
struggling for improved prosperity.
Because El NiTfo appears to be a
natural phenomenon, not caused by
human pollution, scientific efforts have
focused first on gaining a better
understanding of its origins and
development, and second on improving
our ability to forecast future events to
enable cost-minimizing responses. Since
its inception in 1985, an international
"Tropical Oceans and Global
Atmosphere" (TOGA) program has been
directing a coordinated scientific
research effort aimed at answering the
questions surrounding El Nino. TOGA is
part of the World Climate Research
Programme organized by the World
Meteorological Organization and the
International Council of Scientific
Unions. Currently, more than 20 nations
are participating in this scientific
endeavor.
Efforts to protect the stratospheric
ozonejayer and to better understand the
El Nino phenomenon provide just two
examples of the many activities now
underway to improve our environment.
While the magnitude of tomorrow's
challenges should not be
underestimated, these programs show
how nations can go forward together to
deal effectively with global problems in
order to safeguard our environment for
our own and future generations, n
(Seidel is a senior analyst with EPA's
Office of Air and Radiation.}
12
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Saving the
Tropical
Forests:
A Beginning
by James Gustave Speth
The world's wet and dry
tropical forests are home to
half the living things on Earth,
though they occupy only 12
percent of the Earth's land
surface.
In one lush, four-mile square of tropical
forest, you can find 1,500 species of
flowering plants, 750 of trees, 400 of
birds, and 150 kinds of butterflies.
The world's wet and dry tropical
forests are home to half the living things
on Earth, though they occupy only 12
percent of the Earth's land surface. They
also sustain the basic needs of millions
of people worldwide, provide raw
materials for a vast array of industrial
products and processes, and help
maintain environmental stability.
The products provided by the rich
genetic resources of the tropical forests
range from coffee and spices to bananas
and nuts, from treatments for childhood
leukemia and Hodgkin's disease to
medicines for arthritis and rheumatic
fever. They are depended on for
industrial products such as oils, resins,
latexes, waxes, tannins, and dyes.
Tragically, these forests are being
destroyed at a devastating rate: 27
million acres a year—an area the size of
Virginia—or about 3,000 acres an hour.
To appreciate the severity of this
problem, consider some of the other
contributions that tropical forests make
to the Earth:
• They protect watersheds and regulate
water flow for farmers who grow food
for well over one billion people. In
many semiarid regions, tree fodder
accounts for 20 percent of the feed of
herding livestock. Tropical forests also
provide fruits, nuts, animal protein, and
a variety of other basic necessities for
200 million forest-dwellers.
• Wood accounts for 76 percent of total
energy consumption in Africa, 42
percent in Asia, and 30 percent in Latin
America. In addition, upland forests
protect downstream hydropower
facilities by helping to control erosion
and sedimentation and regulating water
supplies.
• Over the past decade, exports of
industrial forest products by developing
countries have averaged about $7 billion
(1984 dollars) and rank fifth overall in
non-oil exports. In tropical countries
themselves, small-scale, forest-based
enterprises are often the most significant
source of non-farm employment and
income.
• There is growing scientific evidence
that tropical forests are critical to
maintaining the earth's temperature and
climate, which make human habitation
possible on this planet.
Tropical forests have declined by
nearly half in this century and continue
to disappear rapidly. Latin America and
Southeast Asia have lost two-fifths of
their tropical forests. In Africa, almost
six million acres of dry tropical forests
were destroyed each year between 1980
and 1985. Most developing countries
plant only 5 to 10 percent of what is
needed to offset forest losses and meet
increasing demands for forest products.
Extinction of plants, birds, and other
wildlife is only one of the devastating
results of this destruction. Once
damaged, forest ecosystems begin to
collapse. The soil loses its nutrients and
becomes less fertile, irrigation systems
are flooded and damaged, fuelwood
becomes scarce, crops and livestock are
lost, and drought increases. Breeding
and feeding areas for fish, birds, plants,
and wildlife are disturbed or destroyed.
The causes of deforestation are rooted
in a complex web of social, economic,
and institutional problems. Among them
are the combined effects of poverty,
skewed land distribution, unstable land
and tree tenure, low agricultural
productivity, lack of access to credit and
markets, and rising population pressure,
all of which force farmers to move into
forests for land to grow crops.
Destructive logging practices and
large-scale development projects such as
roads and dams are also important
forest-destroying factors. So are the
low-priority status of forestry in
national development plans, and
institutional weaknesses in forest
management, research, training, and
extension programs within developing
countries.
But the grim prognosis
notwithstanding, the destruction of
tropical forests can be halted. Many
economically and socially viable and
technically sound solutions to problems
of deforestation and land misuse have
been demonstrated to have the potential
for widespread implementation.
The centerpiece of a major
international effort to address these
solutions to tropical deforestation is the
Tropical Forestry Action Plan, jointly
sponsored by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
[FAO), the World Bank, the United
Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), and the World Resources
Institute (WRI). The plan aims to
increase political and public awareness
of the severity of tropical forest
destruction and to mobilize the human
and financial resources needed for a
concerted global effort to combat such
deforestation. It is based on two major
reports released in 1985: the FAO's
"Tropical Forestry Action Plan," and
"Tropical Forests: A Call for Action," by
the World Bank, UNDP, and WRI.
SEPTEMBER 1987
13
-------
The World Bank recently announced
its commitment to more than double its
annual level of lending for
forestry-related activities, increasing it
from $138 million this year to $350
million in 1989. Total development
assistance in forestry, including loans
and grants, is expected to grow from
about $600 million a year in 1984 to
over $1 billion a year in 1988.
FAO has created a Tropical Forestry
Action Plan Secretariat to assist national
governments and the development
agencies in mobilizing technical
assistance support for improved
planning and project implementation. A
development assistance coordination
group, comprised of the Forestry
Advisors of all multilateral and bilateral
development assistance agencies, has
been created. It has met four times to
review Action Plan progress and to
discuss ways to improve aid
coordination and effectiveness. The
process is now shifting .o the national
level; new forest development projects
are being identified and funded.
An unprecedented step in the
worldwide effort to combat the
destruction of tropical forests was taken
A worker tends to young tropical trees in
Costa Rica as part of a tree farming project.
Such efforts are vital, for the world's wet and
dry tropical forests are being destroyed at a
rate of 3,000 acres an hour.
this summer when a distinguished
group of government ministers,
scientists, and world political, financial,
and nongovernmental leaders met at
Bellagio, Italy. This meeting was
sponsored by the FAO, World Bank,
UNDP. WRI," and the Rockefeller
Foundation. Their goal was to identify
strategies for implementing the Tropical
Forestry Action Plan. These strategies
included ways to mobilize greater
resources, help national governments
incorporate Action Plan proposals into
their national development plans.
identify major areas for policy reform,
and assess the role of local, national,
and international institutions for
implementing the strategies conceived
at the meeting.
The participants produced a "Bellagio
Statement" of conclusions and
recommendations. "The Bellagio
Conference shares the sense of urgency
for global action called for in the
Tropical Forestry Action Plan," it began.
Among its recommendations for
addressing the crisis are:
• Generation of political commitment
for support of the Action Plan by
making country-by-country assessments
that specify the impacts on human
welfare and the environment of failure
to contain deforestation.
• Incorporation into the national
development plans of the worst affected
countries of a long-range strategy for
conservation and sustainable use of
their tropical forests. This should
happen within five years.
• Assistance to developing countries to
implement a major program for
involving local communities
in forest conservation and
tree-planting.
• Action by governments to remove
subsidies and other policies that
encourage economic inefficiency and
over-harvesting of forest resources.
Development assistance agencies should
ensure that their activities contribute to
the protection rather than the
destruction of natural ecosystems.
As the Bellagio Conference and
Statement show, the Tropical Forestry
Action Plan has focused attention on
the tropical forest crisis confronting us.
What is needed now is world action to
halt and ultimately reverse the
destruction of the natural resources
upon which millions of Earth's
inhabitants depend, c
(Speth is the President of the WorJd
Resources Institute, a Washington-based
policy research center.)
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Awakenings at the Grass
Roots
by Jay D. Hair and Barbara Bramble
Monarch butterflies rest in tree branches
during their annual migration south.
Conditions for their arrival in Mexico have
been improved, thanks to the efforts of
Monarca, a nongovernmental organization
(NGO) that convinced the Mexican Ministry of
Human Settlements and Ecology to establish a
breeding habitat and 37,000-acre buffer zone
for the butterflies.
Environmental grass roots activism,
although nowhere as sophisticated or
as powerful as it is in the United States,
is thriving around the globe.
Worldwide, there are more than 5,000
grass roots environmental, consumer,
and related organizations called NGOs,
for "nongovernmental organizations."
While NGOs vary in their organizational
structure, degree of activism, and
methods of operation, they share several
characteristics.
NGOs originate from community
initiatives. Established without support
from, or dependence on, their
government's financial assistance or
facilities, they are typically independent
of political affiliates and set their own
program agendas. They are free to voice
the concerns of the people who would
be most dramatically affected by
proposed development.
As Khor Kok Peng, research director
of the Consumers' Association of
Penang in Malaysia, observed, "The role
of the NGO is that of a catalyst, a
facilitator, and a help to the community.
Its role is not only vital, but perhaps
indispensable if poor communities are
to build the capacity to genuinely
participate in development."
In many ways, the international NGOs
are similar to environmental groups in
the United States, which derive their
strength from local clubs and
organizations. Like their counterparts in
the United States, they represent
millions of individuals who have
learned that environmental protection
and economic survival go hand-in-hand.
Environmental activism is not really a
new phenomenon in most parts of the
world. Some of the well-recognized and
more traditional international
environmental organizations have had
chapters in Europe and elsewhere for
several decades. But several key events
in the early 1970s fueled the growth of
community-based and community-born
NGOs.
Perhaps the most significant impetus
was the 1972 United Nations'
Conference on Human Environment in
Stockholm, Sweden. That first
international conference, fully reported
in the news media, heightened
awareness about environmental
consequences among the well-educated
and politically influential opinion
leaders of developing countries.
Out of that international conference
was born the U.N. Environment
Programme, a separate department of
the United Nations that deals with
environmental issues. The Programme
provided funds for the establishment in
1974 of the Environment Liaison Centre
(ELC), headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
The ELC began as a coalition of only a
handful of developed countries' NGOs,
which were prime movers at the
Stockholm conference. But today, with a
SEPTEMBER 1987
15
-------
membership of approximately 220
worldwide organizations, the ELC has
evolved into a full-fledged information
and networking center. Its journal,
ECOFOFtl/M, is sent to nearly 6,000
NGOs, governments, intergovernmental
organizations, and individuals.
The growth and the programs of the
ELC have been key factors in the growth
of NGOs around the world, including
such coalitions as the Kenya Energy
NGOs (KENGO), the Pesticides Action
Network, the NGO Task Force on New
Approaches to Development, and the
Renewable Energy and Environment
Conservation Association. In fact, the
ELC's 1982 symposium on "The
Environment and the Future" was
perhaps the first meeting at which the
number of NGO leaders from developing
countries equalled the number from the
industrialized world.
The most important factor in the
growth of NGOs in the developing
world, however, has been the
determination of poor and
disenfranchised communities to protect
their cultures while improving their
livelihoods. In Brazil, for example, a
few traditional conservation groups
have attracted members for more than
30 years, surviving two decades of
military government and working to
protect environmental values.
But Brazil's environmental movement
has grown far beyond the scope of these
traditional conservation organizations.
Today, 350-400 NGOs operate in Brazil,
giving voice to the villagers and
subsistence farmers whose lives are
directly affected by the government's
environmental actions. While many of
these organizations were first conceived
by activists from outside the
community, all are working today
because they have galvanized local
concern and commitment.
The Institute for Amazon Studies in
Curitiba, Brazil, is one example. Created
in 1985 to help protect the Amazonian
rain forest, the Institute in just two
years has become a sophisticated
activist organization using both
scientific and legal tools. Under the
leadership of Dr. Marie Allegretti, it has
filed lawsuits against the illegal clearing
of tropical rain forests and the
destruction of Brazil's wild nut trees,
and its scientific studies and advocacy
work in the courts and the state capital
have also supported Brazil's native
rubber tappers, who have long been
concerned about deforestation.
Since 1986, the rubber tappers have
been organized into their own group,
the National Council of Rubber Tappers.
A coalition of local and rural rubber
tappers unions, the National Council is
truly a grass roots organization, Founded
by natives and with its leadership
elected from within its membership.
The National Council has begun to
have real clout. Only recently, the
Council of Environment, a
nongovernmental organization
representing private industry, state
government agencies, and NGOs, voted
to support the rubber tappers' most
important proposal: federal government
action to set aside an "extraction area"
to be managed for rubber tapping, thus
protecting the tropical rain forest. The
Council of Environment, an influential
national force, is now expected to
propose designation of an extraction
area to the Brazilian legislature, which
generally heeds the Council's
recommendations.
In addition, members of the National
Council of Rubber Tappers traveled this
year to the United States and Great
Britain to confer with international
environmental experts on how to
change the environmentally destructive
policies of international financial
institutions.
Worldwide, there are more
than 5,000 grass roots
environmental, consumer, and
related organizations.
Much the same trend is evident
around the world. For several decades,
Mexico had only two very traditional
conservation organizations. Now, 28
formally organized groups have been
operating under a coalition called the
Conservation Federation of Mexico
(FECOMEX).
The coalition has helped persuade the
Mexican government to take 21 separate
actions to clean up the air in Mexico
City, one of the world's most densely
populated and polluted cities. Among
the 21 actions is the establishment of a
clean air council for the city. Moreover,
FECOMEX prevailed on government
authorities to seat an NGO
representative on the council.
Another group, Monarca, last year
convinced the Ministry of Human
Settlements and Ecology to consider
establishing the common monarch
butterfly's breeding habitat and a
37,000-acre buffer zone as an
international biosphere reserve.
Monarca's actions came in time to
protect the butterfly's winter haven and
mating sites.
In another part of the world, the
Indonesian Environmental Forum
(locally called the Wahana Lingkungan
Hidup Indonesia, or WALHI) was
formed in 1980 and now provides
communications and support to more
than 320 NGOs.
Although environmental awareness is
relatively new in Indonesia, the NGOs
are already making an impact. In 1982,
for example, KRAPP (Volunteers
Against the Misuse of Pesticides) was
formed by 12 NGOs. It has grown to
encompass 19 organizations, including
the Indonesian Consumers Organization.
KRAPP has exposed several cases of
DDT poisoning, with the result that
construction of a planned DDT
manufacturing plant has been cancelled.
Additionally, the government has
banned the sale of DDT for agricultural
use.
Most recently, 22 NGOs have
established a network called Volunteers
for the Control of Pollution (SKREPP).
Although new on the scene, this
coalition has already raised awareness
about mercury pollution in Jakarta Bay
and is protesting pollution from a
cement factory in Cibinong producing
uncontrolled dust that has caused
respiratory problems among villagers.
The strength and message of the
world's NGOs are beginning to reach the
international financial community.
Under pressure from environmental
activists, the World Bank recently
announced the formation of an
environmental department and the
hiring of new staff. And this year, the
Inter-American Development Bank for
the first time invited representatives of
NGOs to meet and discuss the bank's
environmental and loan policies.
Representatives from 15 Central and
South American countries and the
Caribbean attended and later formed an
informal network to keep the pressure
on and information flowing.
In the 1970s, the World Bank, the
Inter-American Development Bank, and
other international organizations would
have had difficulty identifying viable
NGOs with which to discuss these
issues. They have no such difficulty
today. The NGO movement around the
world is still expanding and changing.
Each day, the roster of NGOs grows as
new groups of grass roots activists band
together for a better tomorrow, a
(Hair is President of the National
Wildlife Federation, and Bramble is
Director of International Programs for
the Federation.]
16
EPA JOURNAL
-------
The French Riviera, Along with several other
agencies, the World Bank is exploring the
possibility of an environmental plan to protect
the Mediterranean.
Giving the
Environment
Its Due at the
World Bank
by Barber B. Conable
Environmental protection and
economic development have not
always been pursued with equal vigor
in the developing world. As one
observer phrased the issue, "You can't
talk about environmental protection to a
country that's on the margin of
survival."
But after many years of experience,
the World Bank has discovered just the
opposite—environmental issues must be
discussed with developing countries,
including the poorest, because the goals
of poverty alleviation and
environmental protection are not only
consistent, they are interdependent. A
vital lesson now being learned in the
developing world is that sustained
development depends on managing
resources, not exhausting them.
The World Bank has long recognized
the close interaction between
development and the environment. It
was the first'international lending
institution to establish explicit policies
on limiting any harmful environmental
consequences of development projects it
financed. The World Bank has also
supported many projects with strong
environmental components, such as
over $1 billion in development loans for
forestry projects in the last decade.
But in fields as dynamic as
development and the environment, it is
to be expected that the World Bank
would on occasion misjudge the
environmental aspects of its projects.
For example, a recent project in Brazil,
known as Polonoreste, was a sobering
case of a well-intentioned effort with
numerous environmental safeguards that
ran into difficulties. The bank misread
the human, institutional, and physical
realities of the Amazon rain forest as the
area came under increasing pressure
from migrants seeking their future on
this Brazilian frontier. Protective
measures to shelter fragile land and
tribal peoples were included, but they
were not carefully timed nor adequately
monitored and enforced. When the
mistake became apparent, the World
Bank suspended disbursements on the
project until corrective measures were.
put in place.
The Polonoreste project was a pivotal
experience for the World Bank. Bank
experts learned that ambitious
environmental design requires realistic
monitoring and enforcement
mechanisms. Where institutional
safeguards are weak, the bank must act
as a positive force to strengthen them.
Environmentally sound development
SEPTEMBER 1987
17
-------
requires the bank to be part of the
action, and much more than in the past,
it will be. This will require both
organizational changes in the institution
and philosophical shifts in terms of its
policy approach.
As part of the recent reorganization of
the World Bank, a top-level
Environment Department has been
created to help set the direction of bank
policy, planning, and research work. At
the level of the bank's day-to-day
lending operations, an Environment
Unit has been established in each of the
four regional complexes of the bank
where development projects and
environmental safeguards are negotiated
and monitored. From the handful of
environmental specialists formerly in
place, these recent organizational
changes will eventually more than
double the number of environmentalists
as well as increase the use of outside
consultants to handle specialized
problems.
Philosophically, the World Bank is, as
its charter specifies, an economic
institution. But environmental action
adds a new dimension to the bank's
fight against global poverty; it
recognizes that sound ecology is good
economics.
The World Bank will continue to lend
to developing countries for projects in
energy and infrastructure,
industrialization and irrigation, but it
will do so with greater sensitivity to
their long-term environmental effects.
The bank will place a new emphasis on
correcting economic policies that
promote environmental abuse. As
before, the bank will withhold support
for those projects where environmental
safeguards are inadequate; and in the
future, the bank will institutionalize a
broader and more comprehensive
approach that puts a premium on
conservation.
As part of these philosophical and
institutional changes, the World Bank
will allocate resources to four new
environmental initiatives. These are
directed to the bank's clients: the
governments of developing countries.
Here, the bank's purpose will be to
integrate better management practices of
natural resources into overall
development planning and investment.
The first task will be to develop better
knowledge of the problems and
opportunities we face. To gain that
understanding, the bank will use its
added staff resources in a collaborative
series of efforts to assess environmental
problems and management issues in a
number of vulnerable developing
countries. By looking closely at market
forces and broadly at all key sectors of
development activity, these assessments
will identify both the effective and
destructive factors shaping and
distorting the environment, and how
these factors affect economic growth
and poverty alleviation.
The objective will be to establish in
economic terms the value of resources
such as topsoil and grass cover, water
and drainage, forests, and wilderness
that are too often considered
insignificant. The detailed surveys will
demonstrate in economic and
environmental terms, for instance, what
subsidies to pesticide producers and
timber cutters cost in ruining the land
and driving families from it. The real
price of wilderness resettlement will be
measured against the expense of health
and family-planning clinics, of
agricultural extension services, of new
crops and new farming techniques.
These surveys will assemble the
knowledge needed to move the bank
further towards its goal of
environmental rationality in its lending
programs.
The second initiative to be launched
by the World Bank will be an
international environmental rescue and
development effort in Sub-Saharan
Africa. As per capita incomes have
declined in Africa over the last 15 years,
deserts have spread, forests have
dwindled, and soil has washed away.
The pressure of population growth,
urbanization, agriculture, and fuel wood
consumption are stripping West Africa
alone of 8.9 million acres of forest a
year. Desertification in just one country,
Mali, has drawn the Sahara 220 miles
further south in the last 20 years. The
bank will undertake a special program
of technical studies to identify and
assess urgent, promising environmental
protection projects that will be regional
in their scope.
Thirdly, tropical forests in Africa,
Asia, and Latin America also demand
priority attention. Deforestation is
leading to widespread degradation of
the natural resource base, undermining
the capacity of the environment to
support the economies and populations
of developing countries.
The World Bank intends to more than
double its annual level of funding for
environmentally sound forestry projects
to $350 million by 1988-89. This,
however, is more than a program of
expanded lending; it will also focus on
the policies of developing country
governments to ensure sustainability of
the forests. Much is already known on
how best to select wooded areas to
preserve and how to train foresters and
farmers in new techniques of tree
breeding and the conservation of
wildlands. With the gravity of the global
danger and the know-how to avert it
clearly at hand, the resources now must
be mobilized to combat deforestation on
a global scale.
Lastly, in the Mediterranean region,
the bank stands ready to assist in an
intensified international effort to protect
the heritage of beauty and natural
resources that 18 nations and some 400
million people hold in common. The
governments of the Mediterranean states
have long recognized the danger of
pollution to public health and to fishing
and tourism industries. Now, the World
Bank, the European Investment Bank
and Regional Development Fund, the
United Nations Environment
Programme, along with many other
agencies, are exploring together the
possibility of designing a broad,
international project to improve the
Mediterranean environment and
strengthen it with a long-term
preservation plan.
The World Commission on
Environment and Development
concluded in its excellent report, Our
Common Future, that there is a
"possibility for a new era of economic
growth...based on policies that sustain
and expand the environmental resource
base." That optimism is tempered with
caution. Many of the environmental
problems widely recognized as urgent
are still beyond man's technical as well
as political capacities.
Stopping the advance of deserts,
curbing rapid population growth, saving
tropical rain forests, and protecting the
planet's basic resources of air and water
are all environmental necessities
demanding more institutional
coordination and political resolve than
have yet been mustered by the
international community. With its
newly awakened environmental
consciousness, the World Bank will
play a much more active role in global
efforts to preserve and protect the
environment in developing countries.
Working with an invigorated coalition
of governments, institutions,
organizations, and environmental
activists the world over, the tempered
optimism of today will surely yield to
the environmental successes of
tomorrow. D
(Conable is President of the World
Bank.]
18
EPA JOURNAL
-------
One of the theme rides at Disneyland
is "It's a Small World." When we
see photographs of Earth taken from
space, the world does look small and
beautiful—a wonderful swirl of blues.
whites, and greens similar to the colors
of EPA's logo. In many ways, we do live
in a small world. Modern
telecommunication and transportation
systems have put all parts of the world
in contact with one another. We arise in
Geneva at 4:30 a.m. so that we can
watch, live from Las Vegas, the Sugar
Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler fight. Jet
aircraft—once they get out of the
airport—put us within reach of exotic
locations around the world in a matter
of hours rather than weeks.
But in other ways, it remains a very
big world indeed, with enormous
distances and vast cultural and
economic differences among nations.
Visit Jaipur, only 120 kilometers (72
miles) southeast of New Delhi, the
capital of India. In most of the
developed world, this distance would
be covered by car in one or two hours at
most. The New Delhi-Jaipur trip takes
five hours by bus, if you are lucky, and
you can expect to pass many bullock-,
camel-, and people-powered vehicles
along a narrow though well-paved
two-lane highway. Not only does the
physical distance of 120 kilometers
seem considerable, but you quickly
realize how greatly socioeconomic
infrastructures vary around the world.
As you globetrot by jet, the big city
airports of the world may all look much
alike and use similar equipment. But in
fact, there are vast differences in the
levels of technology in most
industrialised countries as compared
with developing nations. Where the
pace of industrialization is accelerating
in these developing countries, threats to
the environment are increasing.
Differences in socioeconomic
infrastructure, wide variations in
technology, and diverse cultural
attitudes: these are only some of the
problems that complicate the
relationship between industry and the
environment in developing nations. It is
also necessary to recognize that industry
is not homogeneous. Industry includes,
of course, the multinational
corporations, the so-called MNCs. It also
includes the large national corporations,
sometimes privately owned but more
The Global
Environment
from
an Industry
Perspective
by Albert Fry
Although they face the challenge of operating
safely from an environmental standpoint
wherever they are located, multinational
corporations are viewed as important in
meeting human needs through the goods and
services that industry provides. Pictured above
is a USX (Steel) Corporation building.
often government-owned or controlled.
In addition, there are joint ventures and
special arrangements between MNCs
and large national corporations. There are
also an enormous number of medium
and smaller companies, and finally a
plethora of very small businesses often
employing 10 or fewer people.
The point is that there is no easy way
to classify industry. It includes
everything from trie huge MNC
petrochemical plants and nationalized
integrated steel factories to small
workshops that fabricate 10 rudimentary
washing machines per day. But after all
these disclaimers, some very interesting
general observations can still be made
about the role of industry in the
international environment.
A radical change in mainstream
environmental thinking has occurred
over the past two decades, just 20 years
ago, the philosophy of the "Club of
Rome," with its focus on the limits to
growth, dominated environmental
writing. According to this philosophy.
the world was running out of natural
resources and just about everything else.
Limits to growth and especially
industrial expansion were necessary to
save the planet. This thinking often
tended to identify industry as the villain
creating all environmental problems.
Now. 20 years later, mainstream
environmental thought regards industry
as a partner in solving environmental
problems. A recent report prepared by
the World Commission on Environment
and Development (VVCKD) is a case in
point. The WCED summarises its
philosophy for the future as follows:
Our report, Our Common
Future, is not a prediction of
ever increasing environmental
decay, poverty, and hardship
in an ever more polluted
world among ever decreasing
resources. We see instead the
possibility for a new era of
economic growth, one that must be
based on policies that sustain and
expand the environmental resource
base. And we believe such growth
to be absolutely essential to relieve
the great poverty that is deepening
in much of the developing world.
Many essential human needs can
be met only through goods and
services provided by industry.
SEPTEMBER 1987
19
-------
This new environmental philosophy
emphasizes "sustainable growth," a new
term that is not yet fully defined.
However, the term clearly implies
growth that is compatible with our
biosphere, and this means using
resources efficiently by restoring or
replacing them whenever possible. It
also implies that economic
activity—industry—can directly or
indirectly relieve some of the stresses
placed upon the environment by present
practices in developing nations. There is
an important message in this new
philosophy: namely, that economic
growth and environmental protection
can be compatible. Such sustainable
economic growth can occur only
through cooperation between
governments and industry.
There is a perception that many
industrial corporations from the United
States or other developed nations
relocate to developing countries because
such countries have lower or no
pollution control requirements.
Empirical studies by the World Wildlife
Fund and the Conservation Foundation,
World Resources Institute, and other
academicians have not found any
evidence to support this perception. It is
true that developing countries often do
have less stringent environmental
requirements and less effective
enforcement systems than most
developed nations. It is also true that
some industries in developing nations
are still major polluters. However, these
are not usually the MNCs, which now
give high priority to the environment.
This may be partially explained by
the more sophisticated technology and
management experience available
within MNCs. But it also reflects other,
pragmatic forces. Once a large MNC has
built its newest facility to meet stringent
environmental controls in a developed
nation, that plant becomes the model for
its next capital investment. The MNC
goes overseas to take advantage of lower
wages or lower costs for raw materials,
but it builds a carbon copy of the latest
clean facility built in a developed
country with stringent environmental
regulations.
From a pragmatic standpoint, it is
very expensive to modify the technical
plans and systems, but even more
important is the "reputation" factor.
Most large MNCs have name recognition
around the globe, and they sell their
brand name products in many different
countries. The last thing they want is a
bad reputation as a polluter in a newly
developing nation. Such a reputation
would damage its image everywhere
and eventually hurt sales in the
developed world, where consumers
often boycott products made by
companies with poor environmental
reputations.
Ironically, there have been instances
where governments have encouraged
industry to maximize investment in
productive capacity-and spend less on
"non-productive" environmental
controls. When nations are desperate to
feed, house, and clothe their citizens,
pollution control—especially expensive
controls—sometimes gets
short-changed. This, of course, does not
relieve industry from its responsibilities.
It does, however, highlight the need for
cooperation between government and
industries everywhere, especially in the
newly developing nations.
To begin with, MNCs must absolutely
obey all the environmental rules and
regulations in the countries in which
they operate. But beyond this, they
should also abide by the more stringent
standards that they use in developed
countries, modified only as necessary to
accommodate unique local conditions.
MNCs should set an example for
indigenous companies operating within
the developing nations. They should
also provide technical advice on how to
solve industrial pollution problems.
The International Chamber of
Commerce has adopted "Environmental
Guidelines for World Industry" and is
actively encouraging trade associations
and individual businesses to voluntarily
comply with these guidelines. These
guidelines apply to all industry, not just
MNCs. A group of progressive MNCs
has established and funded a new
organization, the International
Environmental Bureau (1EB), in Geneva,
Switzerland, which is dedicated to
information exchange on industrial
pollution control technology and
management among industries around
the world. This technical information is
provided without charge in the hope
that more and more industries will
voluntarily take action to reduce
industrial pollution. These are only two
small examples of how industry is
assuming new responsibility for
environmental quality.
In many cases, pollution control can
pay for itself by reducing energy or raw
material costs or reducing the volume of
wastes that must be processed. In cases
where the control costs cannot pay for
themselves, the IEB stresses
cost-effective solutions to pollution
problems. The underlying philosophy is
that good environmental practice is
good business.
At first glance, the concept of uniform
environmental standards appears very
logical. However, such is not the case.
The costs of environmental control vary
widely depending on the level and type
of economic activity, the geographical
distribution of that activity, and the
climatic and physical characteristics of
countries or regions.
The benefits of any environmental
standard also depend on the nature of
the environment which is to be
protected, and this, too, varies widely
from country to country, Charles
Pearson of the World Resources
Institute, in his book Multinational
Corporations, summarizes the situation
as follows:
First, an attempt to establish
internationally uniform
standards for the purpose of
harmonizing the international
competitive position would be
neither successful nor desirable on
economic efficiency grounds.
Second, the correct general
principle in both the industrial
and developing countries is to
establish ambient standards on the
basis of a local calculus of costs
and benefits, and to support these
with effluent and emission
standards on individual sources in
a least-cost fashion.
The last sentence aptly describes a
basic responsibility of governments,
which is to carefully evaluate the
special needs of each nation and then
adapt a cost-effective pollution control
program to meet reasonable
environmental goals. Most of the major
MNCs are pledged to cooperate and
assist in achieving these goals.
Environmental rhetoric and
confrontation make headlines in
newspapers but seldom clean up
pollution. Both industry and
government officials in the developed
world have learned that cooperation,
open communications, and hard work
are the ingredients that lead to
environmental progress. The
environmental problems in some parts
of the developing world are still
enormous. Industry, especially the
MNCs, is striving to be part of the
solution rather than part of the
problem, a
(Fry, who previously worked for EPA
and the Business RoundtabJe, is Deputy
Director of the International
Environmental Bureau in Geneva,
Switzerland.)
20
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Challenges Facing the Human Race:
Excerpts from Our Common Future bY Kathryn L
n October 1984, the United Nations
General Assembly established the
World Commission on Environment and
Development as an independent body
comprised of 21 members — 13 from
developing countries and eight
from industrialized nations. Mrs. Gro
Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of
Norway, was appointed Ghairman of the
Commission. The Commission was
chartered to "re-examine environment
and development issues and to
Rush-hour crowds in Victoria Station in Bombay, India. According to the World Commission on
Environment and Development, the world's increasing population is an issue involving not just
numbers of people "but how those numbers relate to available resources."
formulate new, concrete proposals to
deal with them; to assess and propose
new forms of international cooperation
that can break out of existing patterns:
and to raise the level of understanding
and commitment to action everywhere."
To gain perspective on international
environment and development issues,
the Commission held meetings and
public hearings all over the world-
including Jakarta. Indonesia; Oslo,
Norway; Sab Paulo, Bra/.il: and Ottawa,
Canada—where thousands of citizens
were able to express their concerns. In
addition, internationally known
scientists, academics, planners, and
high government officials were enlisted
to prepare a total of 75 detailed reports
for the Commission. The findings and
recommendations of the Commission
are presented in its April 1987 report.
Our Common Future.
As the following excerpts from the
overview of Our Common Future
indicate, the Commission's findings
underscore the mutual interdependence
of environmental problems and
economic development issues. Based on
these findings, the Commission
concluded in the report that the world
is faced with the challenge to preserve
its environment and yet continue to
maintain the technological and
economic growth necessary to sustain
the human population. In actuality, the
two concerns, ecological and economic,
are not separate but rather are
contingent upon each other:
There are environmental trends
that threaten to radically alter the
planet, that threaten the lives of
many species upon it, including
the human species. Each year,
another six million hectares of
productive dryland turns into
worthless desert, Over three
decades, this would amount to an
area roughly as large as Saudi
Arabia. More than 11 million
hectares of forests are destroyed
yearly, and this, over three
decades, would equal an area
about the size of India. Much of
this forest is converted to
low-grade farmland unable to
support the farmers who settle it.
In Europe, acid precipitation kills
forests and lakes and damages the
artistic and architectural heritage
SEPTEMBER 1987
-------
of nations; it may have acidified
vast tracts of soil beyond
reasonable hope of repair. The
burning of fossil fuels puts into the
atmosphere carbon dioxide, which
is causing gradual global warming.
This "greenhouse" effect may. by
early next century, have increased
average global temperatures
enough In shift agricultural
production areas, raise sea levels
to flood coastal cities, and disrupt
national economies. Other
industrial gases threaten to deplete
the planet's protective ozone
shield to such an extent that the
number of human and animal
cancers would rise sharply and the
oceans' food chain would be
disrupted. Industry and agriculture
put toxic substances into the
human food chain and into
underground water tables beyond
reach of cleansing.
There has been a growing
realization in national
governments and multilateral
institutions that it is impossible to
separate economic development
issues from environmental issues;
many forms of development erode
the environmental resources upon
which they must be based, and
environmental degradation can
undermine economic
development. Poverty is a major
cause and effect of global
environmental problems. It is
therefore futile to attempt to deal
with environmental problems
without a broader perspective that
encompasses the factors
underlying world poverty and
international inequality.
Taking its analysis a step further, the
Commission points out a circular
pattern in which heedless economic
development can bring about
devastating environmental effects, and
environmental degradation may then
further intensify economic pressures.
Impoverishing the local resource
base can impoverish wider areas;
Deforestation by highland farmers
causes flooding on lowland farms;
factory pollution robs local
fishermen of their catch. Such
grim local cycles now operate
nationally and regionally. Dryland
degradation sends environmental
refugees in their millions across
national borders. Deforestation in
Latin America and Asia is causing
more floods, and more destructive
floods in downhill, downstream
nations. Acid precipitation and
nuclear fallout have spread across
the borders of Europe. Similar
phenomena are emerging on a
global scale, such as global
warming and loss of ozone.
Internationally traded hazardous
- ••• ••«, *
• ' • - -
--.- . -"-. ;
Trees chopped in two in order to supply livestock with leaves are a common sight in the Sahel,
an area of sub-Saharan countries in Africa. Such practices make recovery of the land difficult.
According to the World Commission on Environment and Development, "Each year, another 6
million hectares of productive dryland turns into worthless desert."
Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway, chairs the World Commission on
Environment and Development.
22
EPA JOURNAL
-------
chemicals entering foods are
themselves internationally traded.
In the next century, the
environmental pressure causing
population movements may
increase sharply, while barriers to
that movement may be even firmer
than they are now.
The report further elaborates:
The recent crisis in Africa best and
most tragically illustrates the ways
in which economics and ecology
can interact destructively and trip
into disaster. Triggered by drought,
its real causes lie deeper. They are
to be found in part in national
policies that gave too little
attention, too late, to the needs of
smallholder agriculture and to the
threats posed by rapidly rising
populations. Their roots extend
also to a global economic system
that takes more out of a poor
continent than it puts in. Debts
that they cannot pay force African
nations relying on commodity
sales to overuse their fragile soils,
thus turning good land into desert.
Trade barriers in the wealthy
nations—and in many developing
ones—make it hard for Africans to
sell their goods for reasonable
returns, putting yet more pressure
on ecological systems.
To break out of this destructive
pattern, the Commission recommends
that both developing and industrial
nations pursue "a new development
path. . .that sustain[s] human progress
not just in a few places for a few years,
but for the entire planet into the distant
future." This theme of "sustainable
development" is central to Our Common
Future, and is reflected in the
Commission's specific recommendations
concerning major environmental and
economic problems around the world:
Loss of Species:
The planet's species are under
stress. There is a growing scientific
consensus that species are
disappearing at rates never before
witnessed on the planet, although
there is also controversy over those
rates and the risks that they entail.
Yet there is still time to halt this
process. . .The diversity of
species is necessary for the normal
functioning of ecosystems and the
biosphere as a whole. The genetic
material in wild species
contributes billions of dollars
yearly to the world economy in the
form of improved crop species,
new drugs and medicines, and raw
materials for industry. But utility
aside, there are also moral, ethical,
cultural, aesthetic, and purely
scientific reasons for conserving
wild beings.
Population Growth:
In many parts of the world, the
population is growing at rates that
cannot be sustained by available
environmental resources, at rates
that are outstripping any
reasonable expectations of
improvements in housing, health
care, food security, or energy
supplies. . . The issue is not just
numbers of people, but how those
numbers relate to available
resources. Thus the "population
problem" must be dealt with in
part by efforts to eliminate mass
poverty, in order to assure more
equitable access to resources, and
by education to improve human
potential to manage those
resources.
Food Production:
Growth in world cereal production
has steadily outstripped world
population growth. Yet each year
there are more people in the world
who do not get enough food.
Global agriculture has the potential
to grow enough food for all, but
food is often not available where it
is needed. . . Food security
requires attention to questions of
distribution, since hunger often
arises from lack of purchasing
power rather than lack of available
food. It can be furthered by land
reforms and by policies to protect
vulnerable subsistence farmers,
pastoralists, and the landless. . .
Urbanization:
By the turn of the century, almost
half of humanity will live in cities;
the world of the 21st century will
be a largely urban world. . .
Between 1985 and the year 2000,
Third World cities could grow by
another three-quarters of a billion
people. This suggests that the
developing world must, over the
next few years, increase by 65% its
capacity to produce and maintain
its urban infrastructure, services,
and shelter merely to maintain
today's often extremely inadequate
conditions. Few city governments
in the developing world have the
power, resources, and trained
personnel to provide their rapidly
growing populations with the land,
services, and facilities needed for
an adequate human life: clean
water, sanitation, schools, and
transport. . . Many cities in
industrial countries also face
problems—deteriorating
infrastructure, environmental
degradation, inner-city decay, and
neighborhood collapse.
Energy:
A safe and sustainable energy
pathway is crucial to sustainable
development; we have not yet
found it. Rates of increase in
energy use have been declining.
However, the industrialization,
agricultural development, and
rapidly growing populations of
developing nations will need
much more energy. Today the
average person in an industrial
market economy uses 80 times as
much energy as someone in
sub-Saharan Africa. Thus any
realistic global energy scenario
must provide for substantially
increased primary energy use by
developing countries. . . Energy
efficiency can only buy time for
the world to develop "low-energy
paths" based on renewable
resources, which should form the
foundation of the global energy
structure during the 21st century.
Most of these sources are currently
problematic, but given innovative
development, they could supply
the same amount of primary
energy the planet now consumes.
Industry:
Experience in the industrialized
nations has proved that
anti-pollution technology has been
cost-effective in terms of health,
property, and environmental
damage avoided, and that it has
made many industries more
profitable by making them more
resource-efficient. While economic
growth has continued, the
consumption of raw materials has
held steady or even declined, and
new technologies offer further
efficiencies. . .Emerging
technologies offer the promise of
SEPTEMBER 1987
23
-------
higher productivity, increased
efficiency, and decreased
pollution, but many bring risks of
now toxic chemicals and wastes
and of major accidents of a type
and scale beyond present coping
mechanisms. There is an urgent
need for tighter controls over the
export of ha/.ardous industrial and
agricultural chemicals. Present
controls over the dumping of
hazardous wastes should be
tightened.
Despite the dire circumstances on
which it reports, the Commission does
not feel that the time is too late to
institute new approaches to solve
common problems.
Our Common Futim? is an urgent call
for recognition of the global causes and
consequences of these problems and for
action involving alJ nations to begin
reversing destructive economic and
environmental trends around the world:
Developing countries face the
obvious life-threatening challenges
of desertification, deforestation,
and pollution, and endure most of
the poverty associated with
environmental degradation. The
entire family of nations would
suffer from the disappearance of
rain forests in the tropics, the loss
of plant and animal species, and
changes in rainfall patterns.
Industrial nations face the
life-threatening challenges of toxic
chemicals, toxic wastes, and
acidification. All nations may
suffer from the releases by
industrialized countries of carbon
dioxide and of gases that react
with the ozone layer, and from any
future war fought with the nuclear
arsenals controlled by those
nations. All nations will have a
role to play in changing trends,
and in righting an international
economic system that increases
rather than decreases inequality,
that increases rather than
decreases numbers of poor and
hungry, n
(Schmifz is a writer/editor with the
Of/ice of Solid Waste who has been on
detail to EPA Journal.)
U.S. Reaction
The United States Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) has
issued a generally favorable statement
in response to Our Common Future,
the report of the World Commission
on Environment and Development.
The CEQ's statement is briefly
excerpted below:
There are many elements in the
report reflecting principles,
positions, and actions which the
United States has embraced and to
which it adheres. Examples
include the central theme of
sustainable development, which
will preserve and enhance
environmental quality in the long
term; the emphasis on economic
growth, especially in
less-developed nations, as a means
of enhancing the environment by
attacking poverty which is often at
the root of environmental
degradation; and the need to
integrate environmental
considerations into economic
decisions at the local, national,
and international level, n
A Commentary
by William D. Ruckelshaus
Two crucial aspects of Our Common
Future, the report of the World
Commission on Environment and
Development (WCED), set it apart from
previous studies of global economic and
environmental problems. Perhaps the
most important is that it is the first such
report to reflect a consensus among
representatives of widely diverse
peoples of the world on a fundamental
conclusion: that protection of the
environment and the natural resource
base of the world is inextricably linked
with sustained economic growth.
Secondly, unlike previous studies, the
proposals of this Commission must be
acted on by the United Nations. The
member nations need not agree with the
conclusions of the report, but they
cannot ignore them.
Over the three-year life of the
Commission, 1 was continually struck
bv the forcefulness with which those
representing the "development" side of
the equation insisted that economic
growth is the key to a healthier
environment. It became clear to us all
that economic growth is essential for the
protection of the environment and the
maintenance of our natural resource
base. In the poor countries, better
management and more technical
assistance is needed. In the U.S. and
other industrialized nations, energy,
agriculture, and other policies must be
examined for changes that will bring
about development with less damage to
the environment and less drain on
precious resources.
The Commission urges more
cooperation between the public and
private sectors in the industrialized
world as well as within the developing
countries. The confrontations of the past
two decades have brought us far in our
cleanup efforts but now action is
stalled in many areas. Sustaining our
resources for now and for future
generations requires a new era of
cooperation among government,
industry, and the private interest
groups. The challenge is to work
together for "our common future."
We anticipate that the impact of the
Commission's findings and
recommendations—which the UN is
required to act on—should have a
significant effect on how countries
throughout the world integrate
environmental planning and
management into sustained economic
development, n
(Ruckelshaus, a former Administrator of
EPA, is a member of the World
Commission on Environment and
Development.)
EPA JOURNAL
-------
AID's Dollars:
Reaching for
a Better
Environment
by Norman Cohen
In Nepal, the U.S. Agency for Internationa!
Development is developing alternative sources
of wood not only to thwart deforestation but
also to protect the habitat of the one-horned
rhino. Villagers have stripped much of the
area's forests, resulting in a decline in the
rhino population.
There is much at stake for the
environment in the developing
world. Tropical forests—centered in the
Third World—are home to half of
Earth's plants and animals. Regions that
once were rich forestland have been
razed for human settlement. Millions of
lives hang in the balance in Africa.
depending on the climate and
management of natural resources. And.
as the Third World's population
continues to boom, the pressure of
humanity versus the environment
becomes even more critical.
Through its worldwide foreign aid
programs, the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) is
helping to ensure that humanity's
growth does not upset nature's delicate
balance.
The natural tension between growth
and the environment gave rise to the
U.N. Conference on the Human
Environment at Stockholm in 1972.
USAID was one of the first donor
agencies to adopt procedures that make
environmental concerns a key part of
designing and carrying out development
projects.
In 1977, this concern was made the
law of the land when the Foreign
Assistance Act was amended to add
"environment and natural resources" to
USAID's mandate. "The environment
is a vital part of the development
process," says former USAID
Administrator Peter McPherson. "We're;
proud of the Agency's achievements in
integrating environmental concerns into
development."
USAID takes its commitment to the;
environmental integrity of its projects
seriously, with practical results. Just one
example: the Agency's experts found
that a rural development project in
Costa Rica was too close for comfort to
an ecologically important wetland. The
area is home to many endangered
species: the jaguar, ocelot, tapir, paca,
and jabiru stork, whose eight-foot wing
span makes it the largest stork in the
world.
USAID made its support for the
development project conditional on the
Cano Negro site being made a wildlife
reserve. The government of Costa Rica
agreed. Today, USAID helps maintain
the site as an enclave for exotic
creatures.
One of the most pressing
environmental problems in the world
today is the destruction of tropical
moist forests, which cover only about
seven percent of the Earth's face but are
an important part of its ecology.
Deforestation currently claims about
80,000 square kilometers of forest each
year, which either are converted to
agriculture or fall victim to excessivi'
burning, grazing, fuelwood gathering, or
industrial exploitation.
As many as one million species—up
to one-fifth of the planet's total—could
perish along with the forests by the year
2000. It is tragic to note that many
varieties of plants and animals could
disappear without ever being discovered
by humans.
The value of some of the endangered
resources is already known: the
camu-camu fruit from the jungles of
Peru has 10 times the vitamin C of an
orange, the periwinkle plant found in
Madagascar is a source of treatment
SEPTEMBER 1987
-------
for Hodgkin's disease and lymphocytic
leukemia, and drugs for treating malaria
and glaucoma originated in the tropical
Amazon. USAID has set out to help save
these and other valuable resources from
the ravages of mismanaged growth. The
Agency has worked with experts in and
out of government to draw up a strategy
for conserving biological diversity.
Recognizing the precious assets that
are at risk in the Third World, USAID is
helping nations grow with their
environment, not against it. For
instance, a vine in Peru produces a seed
that, when dried, burns with a clear
blue flame; it could be an efficient
substitute for kerosene and charcoal.
Researchers in that country also have
discovered a tree species whose bark
contains a substance regarded as a
promising treatment for some forms of
cancer.
Central America was once blanketed
with thick forests; today, less than
one-half of the area is forested. One
response has been USAID's Fuelwood
and Alternative Energy Sources project
based in Costa Rica that has identified
fast-growing trees that can be planted
specifically to provide a ready source of
fuel. Trials conducted throughout that
region have identified 30 promising tree
species now being adopted by farmers.
Haiti has been particularly hard hit by
deforestation. USAID is working
through private groups in an effort to
plant millions of trees in that island
nation.
The United States is encouraging
some farmers to plant and carefully
harvest trees as a cash crop on their
own land rather than tearing down
natural forest areas. One creative
program is providing Haitian farmers
with plants that bear marketable fruits,
such as avocado. "A farmer won't cut
down a tree that makes money." says
Sean Finnegan, who works on a
U.S.-funded effort. "This project helps
the farmer, saves the tree, and helps
prevent hillside erosion."
USAID's largest forestry effort is
underway in Asia. "Projects in
Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia,
and Nepal are seeking to establish
systems of upland management that
reduce environmental damage and
incorporate sustainable agricultural
practices," says Robert Ichord Jr. of the
Agency's Bureau for Asia and Near East.
As in developed countries, many of
the environmental risks in the Third
World are manmade. For example, the
pressure to increase agricultural yields
has made pesticide use a common
practice. "It is not surprising that world
pesticide sales grew from $8 billion in
1972 to almost $13 billion in 1983 with
the most rapid growth occurring in
One of the more unusual
challenges of preserving the
ecological balance and
diversity of the Earth is
protecting endangered species.
developing countries," notes Pat Koshel,
energy and environment policy advisor
at USAID.
The Agency is cooperating with the
World Bank in an effort to educate
people in the safe use of pesticides.
Two years ago, these organizations
developed pesticide-use guidelines.
USAID is also providing $6 million to
fund an Integrated Pest Management
Project based in Costa Rica that will
provide training and technical
assistance to deal safely with pest
problems.
The gas leak in Bhopal, India, that
claimed thousands of lives in 1984 was
shocking evidence of the dangers of
industrial accidents. USAID is working
with U.S. corporations to work out a
safety-conscious response to such
threats. "Through a pilot project begun
last year with the New York-based
World Environment Center, U.S.
industrial experts volunteer to work
with petrochemical, chemical, paper,
and manufacturing facilities in
developing nations to create systems to
deal with such emergencies," explains
USAID's Steve Lintner.
Through a five-year program known
as the International Environment and
Development Service that began in
1983, industry volunteers are
dispatched to countries to identify
environmental problems at the plant
level and recommend remedial action.
More than 25 American companies have
taken part in this program.
The United States has helped dozens
of developing countries develop profiles
of their environment or natural
resources. "Our objective is to enable
developing countries to become
self-reliant in identifying and solving
their environmental problems," says
Nyle Brady, USAID's senior assistant
administrator for Science and
Technology.
In Honduras, a U.S.-supported
environmental profile was put to good
use in drafting a plan to halt soil
erosion in a major Choluteca watershed
area. Working with experts in Thailand,
USAID helped develop a profile that
was used in devising a first-of-a-kind,
five-year environmental plan in that
country, reports Molly Kux of the
Agency's Bureau for Science and
Technology.
Conservation strategies have been
funded in Nepal, Sri Lanka, the
Philippines, and Zimbabwe. The
Agency takes care to work with
home-grown institutions and
conservation groups to nurture concern
and expertise in these countries.
In Africa, the Environmental Training
and Management (ETMA) project is
helping 14 nations recognize the need
for careful environmental management.
ETMA has supported national
conferences in Kenya on water supply
and pollution control. The project has
also provided advice and leadership in
maintaining the water quality of Lake
Victoria, the world's second largest lake,
bounded by five African countries.
One of the more unusual challenges
of preserving the ecological balance and
diversity of the Earth is protecting
endangered species. USAID is
cooperating with the Smithsonian
Institution in Nepal in programs to
protect the one-horned rhino and the
wild Asiatic buffalo.
The habitat of the one-horned
rhino—on the foothills of the
Himalayas—has been threatened by
human settlement. Villagers have
stripped much of the gallery forests for
firewood, fodder, and thatching. As a
result, the rhino population has
dwindled. USAID is helping to bolster
the rhino population and is developing
alternative sources of wood to stave off
deforestation.
The wild Asiatic water buffalo exists
in Nepal and India. USAID is helping to
devise better ways to manage and
maintain the endangered herds.
The protection of the environment
and the wise and sustainable use of
natural resources are fundamental to
human survival, says McPherson.
"These simple facts have become
increasingly apparent in the last decade.
In the years ahead, USAID will play a
key role in the effort to apply human
knowledge to make economic
development a process that not only
sustains but enriches the Earth's natural
heritage."Q
(Cohen is environmental coordinator for
the U.S. Agency for Internationa]
Development.]
26
EPA JOURNAL
-------
A Nuclear Power Plant
Accident: Would We Be
Prepared?
by Miles Kahn
Monitoring for radiation during a simulated
nuclear "accident" last June near the
Commonwealth Edison power plant at Zion,
Illinois, are, from left: Shirley Duran, from
EPA's Office of Radiation Programs in Las
Vegas, and Thomas Morton, who is with the
radiation office's Montgomery, Alabama,
facility.
What would happen if a significant
radiological accident occurred at a
nuclear power plant in the United
States? Would the federal government,
including EPA, be prepared? Would
emergency plans fall smoothly into
place? Would everyone know what to
do?
These are not just idle questions; not
only do we have the examples of Three
Mile Island and Chernobyl to concern
us, but the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission has estimated that there is
a 50-50 chance of a major nuclear
accident occurring in the United States
by the year 2000. Finding the answer to
these questions has become a necessity,
and an EPA team recently participated
in a major exercise to do just that.
Under the general coordination of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), the Commonwealth Edison
nuclear power plant in Zion, Illinois,
last June "hosted" some 800 participants
in the federal response to a simulated
nuclear accident. Designed to test the
implementation of the Federal
Radiological Emergency Response Plan,
the 3-day exercise involved personnel
from most of the major federal agencies,
the states of Illinois and Wisconsin, the
Zion plant, and about 50 foreign
observers. EPA participants included
staff from the Office of Radiation
Programs (ORP) in Washington, D.C., Las
Vegas, and Montgomery, Alabama; from
the Agency's laboratory in Las Vegas,
from EPA Regions 5 and 9: and from the
public affairs offices in Washington,
D.C., and Region 5. The exercise was
scripted to presume worst-case
scenarios in all technical aspects, with
over 120 "controllers" simulating media
representatives. Congressmen, irate
citizens, and other likely players in
such an incident.
Official federal participation began on
Day 2 of the exercise, which coincided
with Day 2 of the "accident." Most of
the EPA contingent was dispatched to
the two main installations handling the
federal response effort; the Monitoring
and Assessment Center and the;
Response Center. Agency
representatives were also assigned to the
nerve center of the entire operation, the
Emergency Operations Facility, and to
the Joint Public Information Center,
Because of its unique capabilities, EPA's
primary responsibility during a nuclear
emergency is to coordinate and support
offsite radiological monitoring.
Consequently, most of the EPA
personnel and equipment were assigned
to the Monitoring and Assessment
Center, headed by a Department of
Energy (DOE) representative. The EPA
Field Response Manager, Chick Phillips.
served as deputy. These roles would
later be reversed as the situation
evolved from emergency response to
long-term environmental monitoring. In
other words, when the situation
stabilizes, EPA takes the lead.
The primary function of the
Monitoring Center was to coordinate the
gathering and analysis of offsite
monitoring data from several hundred
points. Although these points had been
predetermined, monitoring teams were
dispatched to them by EPA coordinators
in response to requests from state
personnel, reacting to constantly-
changing weather conditions and
radiological conditions at the
"damaged" reactor. This meant that
SEPTEMBER 1987
27
-------
Si/ice the Zion "accident"
involved the simulated
evacuation of approximately
138,000 residents in two states,
there was a lot to deal with.
over the two days of monitoring
activity, assignments were constantly
juggled to meet changing conditions, as
the 10 field teams, consisting mainly of
EPA personnel using sophisticated
equipment, collected soil and water
samples, took measurements, and
radioed data back to the monitoring
center coordinators.
The field measurement data were then
forwarded to the Dose Assessment
group for analysis, while water and soil
samples were brought in to the
Monitoring and Assessment Center for
analysis in EPA's mobile laboratory,
driven up from the ORP facility in
Montgomery, Alabama. "If this had been
real," Phillips said, "we would have
also brought up our mobile
communications van from ORP's
Montgomery facility and our
laboratory/communications van from
our Las Vegas facility." In all, EPA
personnel coordinated approximately
190 separate field measurements, some
of which extended into the neighboring
state of Wisconsin. Since the accident
was only a simulation, these
measurements were taken over a
two-day period during hours extended
slightly beyond a normal work day. In a
real accident, Phillips noted,
measurements would be taken 24 hours
a day until the emergency phase was
over and long-term monitoring began
under EPA leadership.
Although most of the EPA resources
were assigned to the Monitoring and
Assessment Center and were employed
in the technical aspects of the federal
response, the Agency also played an
important part in responding to the
more human aspects of the "accident."
Throughout the two days of federal
participation, which equated to Days
two through 10 of the "emergency,"
three EPA Region 5 staffers were
assigned to full-time duty at the Federal
Response Center, which was headed by
FEMA. Whereas the Monitoring and
Assessment Center was responsible for
developing response options based on
data analysis, the role of the Response
Center was to determine the feasibility
of selected options and how to deal
with their consequences. Since the Zion
"accident" involved the simulated
evacuation of approximately 138,000
residents in two states, there was a lot
to deal with. In addition to EPA and
other major federal agencies (including
the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Department of the
Interior, FBI, Food and Drug
Administration, Federal Aviation
Administration, Department of Health
and Human Services, and the Corps of
Engineers), the Response Center also
had representatives from the utility and
major volunteer organizations such as
the Red Cross.
Some of the problems this group had
to deal with were fairly involved,
requiring a good deal of coordination
among state and other federal agencies.
Early in the exercise, for example, the
EPA desk received a call from a
Wisconsin brewer located in one of the
zones designated for sheltering
residents, not for evacuation. The
brewer wanted to know about possible
contamination of the local water supply
and when he could safely resume
brewing. In addition, he wanted to
know about compensation for lost
brewing time due to the "accident." To
determine the status of the water
supply, Region 5 staff member Larry
Jensen and his coworkers checked with
Wisconsin environmental personnel and
with the EPA staff at the Monitoring
and Assessment Center. For answers to
questions concerning compensation, the
brewer was referred to the American
Nuclear Insurers, who were also
represented at the Response Center and
who, as one might imagine, were rather
busy. As a follow-up, the brewer's
inquiry was reported to the FDA in case
of complications from interstate
shipment of the brewer's products.
Another call came from the agent who
had rented cars to EPA and FEMA
personnel involved in responding to the
"emergency." The agent wanted to know
if the cars would be contaminated with
radiation and what would be done if
they were. Jensen assured the agent that
the vehicles would be routinely
monitored for radioactivity; if elevated
levels were detected, the cars would be
thoroughly decontaminated.
In addition to providing personnel for
the events in Illinois, EPA also
supported the exercise from
headquarters by assisting in developing
dose assessments, dealing with
Congressional concerns, addressing
public and media inquiries, and
coordinating the Washington activities
of participating federal agencies. The
exercise was a large undertaking, not
only for EPA, but for the entire federal
establishment. It took a year and a half
and approximately $5 million to plan,
plus the expense involved in actual
participation by each agency. But the
result is an emergency response system
designed to avoid most of the chaos that
followed the reactor accident at Three
Mile Island. Even though all
participants acknowledge that a real
accident would create totally unforeseen
situations, the exercise went well. It
did, however, highlight some EPA
deficiencies, such as the need for
training non-radiation staff who might
be called upon to participate in a real
emergency and for upgrading the
Agency's monitoring and data
transmissions network. These items
have been addressed in a recent ORP
Nuclear Accident Initiative. In
summary, though, as Phillips put it, "in
the exercise, the Feds as a whole
showed that we can adapt and put forth
a credible response. I just hope there's
never a need." Q
(Kahn is a public affairs specialist with
the EPA Office of Radiation Programs.]
28
EPA JOURNAL
-------
EPA's Policy
on the
"Bubble"
by Roy Popkin
Travelers passing the DuFont
Company's giant Deepwater
chemical plant on the New Jersey
Turnpike are often impressed by the
facility's mighty panoply of stacks,
pipes, and valves. They might be more
impressed if they could see the invisible
emissions-control "bubble" that covers
the plant, allowing it to meet state air
quality requirements at the least
possible cost.
This "bubble," combined with
conventional pollution controls, reduces
the amount of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) spewed into the air
over southern New Jersey, Delaware,
and Pennsylvania to more than 2,000
tons per year below the state's
EPA-approved clean air requirements.
Under the bubble, emissions at the three
largest sources were reduced 99 percent
by incinerating them as fuel in the
plant's furnaces. Previously installed
controls on 88 other stacks or vents
remained unchanged, while 28 small
and difficult-to-control valves were
permitted to operate with no controls at
all. The combination, however, reduced
overall emissions sufficiently to more
than meet New Jersey rules calling for
an 85 percent overall reduction in the
plant's VOC emissions. By using a
bubble, DuPont achieved this clean air
goal while saving what it estimates as
more than $10 million in capital and
annual operating costs.
In nearby Bucks County, PA. a similar
"bubble" at USX's Fairless Hills steel
plant deals with sulfur dioxide (SO..)
emitted through the plant's smokestacks
by the scores of boilers and furnaces
used to make steel. The USX bubble is
based on use of fuel (oil and natural gas)
with a lower sulfur content than would
otherwise be required in 94 boilers and
furnaces throughout the plant. Credits
from these extra SO2 reductions are
used to meet requirements at a number
of combustion units. According to USX,
this EPA-approved bubble enabled the
company to reduce emissions to or
below required levels, white saving
about $15 million over conventional
controls obtaining the same results.
And in Bristol. PA. the Minnesota
Mining and Manufacturing Company
(3M) developed, and KPA approved, a
bubble using innovative low-solvent
applications to reduce the plant's actual
emissions below the level required for
conventional controls. Pennsylvania
regulations required a 74 percent
reduction in VOC emissions from each
of 3M's seven tape coaters and three
tape treaters at the Bristol facility.
Conventional compliance would have
required nearly $9 million worth of
control equipment. Instead. 3M replaced
a solvent-based coaler with one that
used no solvents, continued using two
existing control devices, and reduced
production on the other linos. Actual
EPA's Bubble Policy for Existing Sources
Without Controls
Total: 100 tons
Emissions Under Current Limits
Total: 60 tons Cost: $5 million
Agency assigns required reductions
regardless of cost
Emissions Under Bubble Policy
Total: 60 tons Cost: $3.5 million
Company determines most cost
effective way to meet limits
SEPTEMBER 1987
-------
Under the bubble, emissions at
the three largest sources were
reduced 99 percent by
incinerating them as fuel in
the plant's furnaces.
emissions levels are now well below
those required by the state, with savings
estimated by the company in the
millions of dollars.
While these bubbles were approved
under earlier rules, they indicate the
types of benefits EPA hopes to
encourage under the emissions trading
policy issued last December. Described
as "tough but fair" by EPA Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation
J. Craig Potter, the policy sets detailed
criteria under which sources may
substitute or "trade" inexpensive extra
emissions reductions for costly required
ones as part of state plans to meet Clean
Air Act goals. Developed after seven
years of experience with bubbles and
other emissions trades, it continues to
authorize use of environmentally-sound
bubbles as an important component of
the nation's effort to achieve and
maintain clean air. But it also tightens
many past bubble requirements to
ensure that bubbles continue to
contribute to environmental progress as
well as reduced compliance costs.
Under these new, tighter
requirements, "some sources which seek
to bubble will not be able to," said
Potter. "The policy lets states and firms
find ways to reduce unnecessary
pollution control costs, not necessary
pollution control." "Bubbles will not
eliminate pollution or make the work
perfect," adds John M. Campbell, Acting
Assistant Administrator for Policy,
Planning and Evaluation, whose staff
developed the policy that is now being
implemented by Potter's Air Office.
"But they can help us climb the three
walls traditional regulation is
increasingly running up against—lack of
information about real opportunities for
further reductions from thousands of
different industrial sites and processes;
small, difficult-to-regulate sources like
body shops and furniture refinishers,
which contribute most of the remaining
emissions to be controlled in many
areas; and increasingly high control
costs, which can impede the voluntary
cooperation that is necessary to achieve
results." EPA has estimated the cost of
air pollution control at $20 billion per
year, based only on regulations extant in
1980, Campbell notes. "At that level,
even a small percent saving through
bubbles can provide powerful extra
incentives for sources to reduce
emissions, in some cases faster and
more effectively than by uniform rules
out of Washington or state capitals."
Evolution of the new policy began in
1979 when EPA issued its first bubble
guidance to address growing clean air
responsibilities and regulatory
stalemates. A 1982 Interim Policy
enlarged that early effort, integrated the
bubble with other incentive-based
approaches, and streamlined bubble
approval processes. As a result, by
January 1, 1986, EPA had approved or
proposed approval of 50 bubbles, and
numerous others were approved under
state "generic rules" authorizing control
agencies to approve individual bubbles
without review in advance by EPA. All
told, over 250 existing-source bubbles
were approved, proposed, or under
development in 29 states. Industry
estimates indicate that lifetime savings
to the firms involved could equal $1
billion.
But during this seven year period,
emissions trading also generated
considerable controversy. Some
environmental groups became
concerned that use of bubbles might
exacerbate weaknesses in State
Implementation Plans (SIPs), creating
opportunities for manipulation of plant
closings or interpretations of a
company's emissions history that could
allow hidden increases in emissions.
Others insisted that polluters must meet
existing emissions standards for each
pollutant at each source, no matter the
economic cost. Many sources surpass
standard requirements simply by
installing conventional emission
controls, these groups noted. Without
bubbles, any such differences between
"allowable" and "actual" emissions
were an extra bonus for the
environment. But bubbles that would
give credit for these differences, thereby
allowing other sources to avoid control
entirely, could undermine such
environmental gains.
Another key issue was use of bubbles
in so-called "non-attainment areas" that
had not met national ambient standards
for healthy air and lacked
EPA-approved SIPs for doing so.
Without SIPs, it was asserted, no
reduction could be deemed "extra" and
available for bubble credit, because it
was not yet known how many
reductions were needed for attainment.
Hence bubbles should be severely
restricted or disallowed. One key suit
touching this issue went to the U.S.
Supreme Court before it was decided
that EPA could allow non-attainment
states to include bubble approaches in
their SIPs.
The final policy is based on these
concerns and EPA's experience with
bubble applications from a variety of
industries in many parts of the country.
It confirms the principle that allowing
slates and firms to secure equal or better
reductions at less cost is an important
way to help meet the goals of the Clean
Air Act. But the policy also contains
new emissions-accounting and
ambient-evaluation procedures which
require bubble credit to be consistent
with SIPs and health standards in all
30
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Under the new, tighter
requirements, "some sources
which seek to bubble will not
be able to," said Potter.
areas. And in non-attainment areas
without plans, the policy requires each
bubble trade to produce affirmative
environmental progress —substantial
overall emission reductions, beyond
applicable requirements and without
allowing credit for reductions produced
by controls installed before an
application to bank or trade.
In deciding such threshold issues
before release of the new policy, EPA
Administrator Lee M. Thomas said these
tightenings "will prevent any recurrence
of alleged problems with some past
bubbles, while strengthening the
bubble's ability to help get us where we
need to go." He also noted that "the
bubble is a creative way to supplement
and enhance the air management
scheme embodied in the statute. While
it cannot solve—and should not be
asked to solve—all the problems of that
scheme, it makes an important
contribution in terms of needed
flexibility, ability to respond to
changing circumstances, and stronger
incentives for environmental progress. 1
am convinced that, taken together, this
represents a responsibly balanced
package which will strengthen bubbles'
ability to advance environmental
progress as well as regulatory
flexibility."
Among other steps the new policy:
• Tightens general requirements for
existing-source bubbles, state generic
bubble rules, and EPA-approvable state
emissions banks (which allow sources
to make extra reductions early and store
them for future use or sale).
• Requires that bubbles not increase,
and in most cases further reduce, any
hazardous or potentially hazardous
emissions; meet rigorous accounting
rules preventing hidden emissions
increases; and implement "truth in
trading" by publicly noting all changes
in actual and permissible emission
levels, so their ambient effects will be
clearly known.
• Requires "progress bubbles" in areas
which need but lack EPA-approved
plans for attaining ambient health
standards. These bubbles may not rely
on reductions resulting from plant
shutdowns, installation of emission
controls, or other actions, if these
reductions are made before
application for trading credit. In
addition, they must meet stringent
baselines from which to count bubble
credit, produce an overall 20 percent
reduction in remaining emissions, and
be accompanied by written state
assurances that they are consistent with
the area's developing cleanup plan.
The new policy also provides that
last-minute bubble applications do not
impede compliance and enforcement.
For example, states may no longer grant
compliance extensions for bubbles being
processed under generic rules in any
non-attainment area. Further, the mere
filing of a bubble application does not
suspend relevant emission limits or
control obligations, although a special
provision exists to protect fairness and
EPA-state relations in the case of
bubbles that appear sound to EPA and
have been proposed for approval by
states. In addition to this provision, the
policy also includes a similar fairness
provision for bubble proposals that were
pending before EPA under the 1982
bubble policy when the new, final
document was issued.
"This policy sets a framework that
should remove much of the uncertainty
which has impeded trading in recent
years," said Michael H. Levin, director
of EPA's Regulatory Innovations Staff.
"Some people may think it's too tight,
while others may think it's not tight
enough. But it's usable and
predictable—states and sources can
count on bubbles that meet it being
approved. It requires bubbles in all
areas to maintain ambient plans and
standards. And in areas that still have
health problems, it requires that each
bubble make things better than
before.. . The real question was whether
constructive new approaches were
possible under the Clean Air Act. This
policy says the answer is 'yes.' We
expect to see it widely used as part of
upcoming efforts to meet the December
1987 attainment deadlines."
Says Jack Campbell, "the new policy
strengthens and refines EPA's past
efforts to use economics to accelerate
environmental progress. Use of
bubbles. . .has been estimated by
industry to save the economy hundreds
of millions of dollars. Similar
approaches are making important
contributions to our efforts to phase out
lead in gasoline, reduce the use of
asbestos, and secure further reductions
from various sources under the Clean
Water Act. But the air bubble was the
first example. The new policy makes it
part of routine pollution control—no
longer just a grand experiment."
Adds Craig Potter: "The policy
protects the environmental progress we
have made, while offering states and
sources increased flexibility and the
potential for significant cost savings. It
contains tough new requirements.
especially for areas not meeting health
standards and lacking an EPA-approved
plan. To the extent that it fosters the
development of innovative,
cost-effective pollution control
strategies, both the environment and the
economy will benefit...The policy is not
a substitute for necessary regulation. But
in dirty-air areas it can make interim
contributions, and in all areas it can
augment a state's ability to manage air
quality." a
(Popkin is a writer/editor/or (he EPA
Office of Public Affairs.)
SEPTEMBER 1987
31
-------
Update
A review ot recent major EPA activities and developments in the pollution control program areas
AIR
PESTICIDES
WATER
Radon Problems
EPA released the results of
the largest survey of indoor
radon done to date that
found elevated radon levels
in 21 percent of the 11.600
homes tested in 10 states.
The Agency found that the
distribution of radon levels
varied significantly among
the states, and even the states
with the lowest distribution
or occurrence of radon had
some houses with high radon
concentrations.
A. James Barnes, EPA
Deputy Administrator, said,
"These findings indicate that
radon may be a problem in
virtually every state... It (the
survey) reinforces our earlier
belief that people who think
their homes may have a
radon problem should test
and take proper actions, if
necessary."
The 10 states surveyed
were Alabama, Colorado,
Connecticut, Kansas,
Kentucky, Michigan, Rhode
Island, Tennessee,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Chlordane Agreement
EPA announced that the
Velsicol Chemical
Corporation has voluntarily
agreed to immediately cease
the sale of pesticides
containing chlordane and
heptachlor that are used to
control termites while it
evaluates several modified
application techniques
designed to reduce potential
chlordane exposure.
The company will not be
permitted to sell the
termiticides unless it can
demonstrate that new
application methods can be
used without resulting in
detectable airborne residue
levels inside homes.
If new application
techniques permit
re-marketing, Velsicol has
agreed to the following
measures:
• Permanently deleting a
number of application
techniques.
• Modifying certain
termiticide application
practices in order to reduce
potential human exposure.
• Incorporating a coloring
agent into termiticides to help
homeowners spot spills or
leaks.
• Restricting use of all
chlordane and heptachlor
products to certified
applicators.
Underground Drinking
Water
The Agency is proposing to
strengthen its regulations
protecting underground
sources of drinking water
from underground injection
of hazardous waste.
EPA estimates that of all
hazardous waste disposed, 60
percent goes down injection
wells. Over 90 percent of the
wells injecting these wastes
are operated by the organic
chemical, petroleum, and
steel industries.
The vast majority of wells
being injected are located
along the Gulf Coast and
Great Lakes, with Texas and
Louisiana alone accounting
for 70 percent of the injection
sites.
This proposal takes the
land-disposal regulations
already on the books under
RCRA and applies them
specifically to
hazardous-waste injection
wells.
Court Ruling on Drinking
Water Goals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for
the D.C. Circuit has validated
EPA's process for
establishing Health Goals
under the Safe Drinking
Water Act. Three lawsuits
had been filed against the
Agency contesting
Recommended Maximum
Contaminant Levels (RMCLs,
now called Maximum
Contaminant Level Goals,
MCLGs) for volatile synthetic
organic chemicals.
Suits by the American
Petroleum Institute and the
Chemical Manufacturers'
Association challenged the
inclusion of certain
substances among the
regulated chemicals and also
challenged EPA's decision to
establish RMCLs/MCLGs at
zero as an aspirational goal
for probable human
carcinogens. A Natural
Resources Defense Council
suit argued that EPA should
have set an RMCL/MCLG at
zero for vinylidene chloride,
a substance that is not
considered a probable
carcinogen.
The court ruled
unanimously that EPA's
determinations were well
within the bounds of its
authorities under the Safe
Drinking Water Act. This
ruling is particularly
significant in that the EPA
policy for goals (MCLGs) that
was articulated for the eight
substances involved has been
legally resolved. That
approach will be the basis for
goals for the remainder of the
83 substances required to be
regulated by 1989 under the
revised Safe Drinking Water
Act requirements.
32
-------
Fishermen in Oman are being educated to
avoid overfishing of striped bass as one way to
save natural resources from depletion while
generating greater profits and a steady income.
Back Cover: Clearing land in Brazil. Although
tropical forests are being rapidly lost, efforts
are underway to protect this vital resource.
See article on page 13. Photo by Stephanie
Maze, Woodfin Camp & Associates.
-------
..**
'
------- |