Regulation and monitoring of pollution

To protect the environment from the adverse effects of pollution, many nations worldwide have enacted legislation to regulate various types of pollution as well as to mitigate the adverse effects of pollution.

Regulation and monitoring by region

International

Since pollution crosses political boundaries international treaties have been made through the United Nations and its agencies to address international pollution issues.

Greenhouse gas emissions

The Kyoto Protocol [http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf Kyoto Protocol To The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] ] is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty on global warming. It also reaffirms sections of the UNFCCC. Countries which ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases. A total of 141 countries have ratified the agreement. Notable exceptions include the United States and Australia, who have signed but not ratified the agreement. The stated reason for the United States not ratifying is the exemption of large emitters of greenhouse gases who are also developing countries, like China and India.cite web|year=2001-06-11|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/06/print/20010611-2.html|title=President Bush Discusses Global Climate Change|format=Transcription of speech|accessdate=2006-04-09]

An UN environmental conference held in Bali 3 - 14 December 2007 with the participation from 180 countries aims to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which will end in 2012. During the first day of the conference USA, Saudi Arabia and Canada were presented with the "Fossil-of-the-day-award", a symbolic bag of coal for their negative impact on the global climate. The bags included the flags of the respective countries. [ [http://www.fossil-of-the-day.org/ Fossil-of-the-Day Awards at UN Climate Change Negotiations ] ]

Toxic wastes

Canada

In Canada the regulation of pollution and its effects are monitored by a number of organizations depending on the nature of the pollution and its location. The three levels of government (Federal - Canada Wide; Provincial; and Municipal) equally share in the responsibilities, and in the monitoring and correction of pollution.

China

China's rapid industrialization has substantially increased pollution. China has some relevant regulations: the 1979 Environmental Protection Law, which was largely modelled on U.S. legislation. But the environment continues to deteriorate.cite book|author=Ma, Xiaoying and Ortalano, Leonard|title=Environmental Regulation in China: institutions, enforcement and compliance|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2000|id=ISBN 0-8476-9398-8] Twelve years after the law, only one Chinese city was making an effort to clean up its water discharges.cite book|author=Sinkule, Barbara J. and Ortolana, Leonard|title=Implementing Environmental Policy in China|publisher=Praeger Publishers|year=1995|id=ISBN 0-275-94980-X] This indicates that China is about 30 years behind the U.S. schedule of environmental regulation and 10 to 20 years behind Europe. In July 2007, it was reported that the World Bank reluctantly censored a report revealing that 750,000 people in China die every year as a result of pollution-related diseases. China's State Environment Protection Agency and the Health Ministry asked the World Bank to cut the calculations of premature deaths from the report fearing the revelation would provoke "social unrest". [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/china-covers-up-pollution-deaths/2007/07/04/1183351291152.html China covers up pollution deaths] ]

Europe

United Kingdom

In the 1840s, the United Kingdom brought onto the statute books legislation to control water pollution. It was extended to all rivers and coastal water by 1961. However, currently the clean up of historic contamination is controlled under a specific statutory scheme found in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part IIA), as inserted by the Environment Act 1995, and other ‘rules’ found in regulations and statutory guidance. The Act came into force in England in April 2000.

Within the current regulatory framework, Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) is a regime for controlling pollution from certain industrial activities. The regime introduces the concept of Best Available Techniques ("BAT") to environmental regulations. Operators must use the BAT to control pollution from their industrial activities to prevent, and where that is not practicable, to reduce to acceptable levels, pollution to air, land and water from industrial activities. The Best Available Techniques also aim to balance the cost to the operator against benefits to the environment. The system of Pollution Prevention and Control is replacing that of Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) (which was established by the Environmental Protection Act 1990) and is taking effect between 2000 and 2007. The Pollution Prevention and Control regime implements the European Directive (EC/96/61) on integrated pollution prevention and control.

United States

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established threshold standards for air pollutants to protect human health on January 1, 1970. One of the ratings chemicals are given is carcinogenicity. In addition to the classification "unknown", designated levels range from non-carcinogen, to likely and known carcinogen. Some scientists have said that the concentrations which most of these levels indicate are far too high and the exposure of people should be less. In 1999, the United States EPA replaced the Pollution Standards Index (PSI) with the Air Quality Index (AQI) to incorporate new PM2.5 and Ozone standards. The United States Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1963 to legislate the reduction of smog and atmospheric pollution in general. That legislation has subsequently been amended and extended in 1966, 1970, 1977 and 1990. Numerous state and local governments have enacted similar legislation either implementing or filling in locally important gaps in the national program. The national Clean Air Act and similar state legislative acts have led to the widespread use of atmospheric dispersion modeling [cite book | author=Beychok, Milton R. | title=Fundamentals of Stack Gas Dispersion| edition=4th Edition| publisher=author-published |year=2005 |id=ISBN 0-9644588-0-2 [http://www.air-dispersion.com www.air-dispersion.com] ] in order to analyze the air quality impacts of proposed major actions.

Passage of the Clean Water Act amendments of 1977 required strict permitting for any contaminant discharge to navigable waters, and also required use of best management practices for a wide range of other water discharges including thermal pollution.

Passage of the Noise Control Act established mechanisms of setting emission standards for virtually every source of noise including motor vehicles, aircraft, certain types of HVAC equipment and major appliances. It also put local government on notice as to their responsibilities in land use planning to address noise mitigation. This noise regulation framework comprised a broad data base detailing the extent of noise health effects.

The state of California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has maintained an independent list of substances with product labeling requirements as part of Proposition 65 since 1986.

With the 1990 Clean Air Act, the EPA began a controversial carbon trading system in which tradable rights to emit a specified level of carbon are granted to polluters.

The United States has a maximum fine of US$25,000 for dumping toxic waste.

:;See also:*Timeline of major US environmental and occupational health regulation:*Superfund:*AP 42 Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors

ee also

*List of environmental issues
*Dutch standards, environmental pollutant reference values

References

External links

* [http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk Environment Agency (England and Wales)]
* [http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/index_e.htm Environmental Assessment Agency - Canada]
* [http://www.epa.gov Environmental Protection Agency - USA]
* [http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet/newsletters/ghindex.html Extoxnet newsletters] - environmental pollution news. Last update 1998.