Legislation effectiveness

For supervisors. EPA activities and other key legislation, effective chemical management, training and personnel issues, and emergency response. Part of 15-volume series, "Supervisors Development Program. ... 

The Nevada Chemical Catastrophe Prevention Act (NCCPA) was developed in response to the two incidents in the late 1980s which occurred in Nevada. This act and its program regulations, enacted in 1991, became effective in 1992 (29,30). The legislation appHes to faciUties handling any of the 128 listed chemicals in quantities above a threshold quantity. 

Whereas no quantitative consequence analysis is required by this legislation, the process ha2ards analysis must include a quaHtative evaluation of the possible effects of failure of controls on employees. Details concerning development and implementation of programs for these subjects are available (37-39). 

Although considerable federal legislation dealing with air pollution has been enacted since the 1950s, the basic statutory framework now in effect was established by the Clean Air Act of 1970 amended in 1974 to deal with energy-related issues amended in 1977, when a number of amendments containing particularly important provisions associated with the approval of new industrial plants were adopted and amended in 1990 to address toxic air pollutants and ozone nonattainment areas. 

As indicated above, national policies and international conventions have been invoked to curb known, and usually obvious, sources of marine pollution. National legislation is used to control coastal discharges of contaminants. A major problem remains owing to the inadequate treatment of sewage prior to emission from land-based sources. The most important deleterious effects in this case are with respect to microbial water quality. This can have a direct influence on bathing criteria and result in beach closures during contamination episodes. An additional problem from land-based sources pertains to transboundary effects, whereby pollution may inadvertently be exported from one country to another. 

This example leads us to a very important observation. While pollution prevention may seem like the obvious thing to do, it is not always cost effective, and investments into re-engineering processes must be carefully scrutinized. In fact, in this example, we see environmental legislation that actually discourages investments into green technologies, which in itself is contrary to national policy under the Pollution Prevention Act. 

An indicative limit value is a more common type of limit that reflects expert evaluation based on scientific data where it is possible to identify the highest level of exposure along with the corresponding reference time period for which one can have confidence that there will be no adverse effects on health. For any chemical agent for which an indicative occupational exposure limit value is established at the community level, member states shall establish a national occupational exposure limit value, taking into account the community limit value and determining its nature in accordance with national legislation and practice. 

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