Page 35 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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methods in the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) has
distinguished the following types of tools (De Smet et al., 1996): political instru-
ments, procedural tools and analytical tools.
In general, to be applied, the tools need technical elements like dispersion and
other pollutant fate models, damage functions, weighting schemes, and available
data, e.g., about emissions and resource consumption, as well as technical specifi-
cations and geographic location. The application of these tools provides consistent
environmental information that facilitates adequate decision-making toward sus-
tainable development. An overview of the conceptually related methods in envi-
ronmental management is presented in Figure 1.1. Based on the idea of the inter-
action between these different concepts and tools, a concerted action named
CHAINET took place from 1997 to 1999 under the European Union Environment
and Climate Program. The mission of this action was to promote the common use
of the different tools and to facilitate information exchange among the relevant
stakeholders (CHAINET, 1998).

1.5.1 POLITICAL INSTRUMENTS
Generally, political instruments are adopted by political administrations. We will
present typical samples of laws for a given activity to environmental management
that are related.

1.5.1.1 Law on Chemical Substances
Within the framework of green chemistry and chemical substances, we could men-
tion regulations such as the European Parliament and Council Directive 1999/45/EC,
May 31, which serves as a means to homogenize standards among EU member
countries concerning classification, packing and characterization of dangerous sub-
stances (Federal Environment Agency Ltd. of Austria, 2000).

1.5.1.2 Law on Process Security

An example is the National Industrial Security Program EO 12829 of the U.S. This
order establishes a National Industrial Security Program to safeguard federal gov-
ernment classified information that is released to contractors, licensees, and grantees
of the U.S. Government.
The Chemical Security Act (S.1602) of the U.S. was designed to protect com-
munities from terrorism and accidents involving hazardous industrial chemicals.
This bill establishes the first national effort to reduce industrial chemical hazards
that endanger nearby neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, senior centers, or other
public and business areas. It was foreseen that in September 2002, the U.S. Senate
would take up the Chemical Security Act as an amendment to the homeland security
bill. The Chemical Security Act, S. 1602, introduced by Senator Corzine (D-NJ),
would require high-priority facilities to conduct vulnerability and hazard assessments
and develop plans for improving site security and reducing chemical hazards
(www.cpa.com/teampublish/uploads/S1602.pdf).

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