Hazard, pollution control report

Press, 8 December 1988, Page 31

Hazard, pollution control report

OLIVER RIDDELL

By <

in Wellington

Hazard and pollution control through integrated management of hazardous substances is the main aim of the final report of the inter-agency co-ordi-nating committee on pollution and hazardous substances.

Its report to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Palmer, said that hazardous substances affected the environment in so many ways that effective controls had to be integrated with other environmental management. Mr Palmer described the report as the most comprehensive examination of the issue undertaken in this country.

The report said the management of hazardous substances was a microcosm of the whole area of environmental management. The committee was initially set up to look at

procedures which would prevent accidents like the 1.C.1. fire in Auckland and chemical spills. Once it started, the committee decided it could not separate management from pollution control, occupational health and safety issues, and the disposal of hazardous wastes. Even the normal use of hazardous substances could have undesirable side-effects on the environment such as soil and water pollution and bio-accumulation of toxins higher up food chains, the report said.

But at the same time hazardous substances had beneficial effects in areas such as pest control, industrial processes and research.

So the report recommended weighing up the benefits against the risks and choosing the best management option.

It recommended the

Government assess hazardous substances, administer a national information bank, set national safety standards, and ensure that regional and local management agencies run efficiently. Decisions on whether particular projects met the national criteria would be made through consent procedures, with the primary responsibility for enforcement and monitoring resting on local

and regional government. Mr Palmer said there were various ways of carrying out such a plan and the committee had put forward five in its report. The status quo could not meet the required standards of management, he said, because of the confused state of the iaw and administration. The options included: ® A Department of Hazards Control, which would

link occupational safety and health with environmental protection. © An Environmental Protection Agency to deal with hazardous substances and pollution control. ® An Occupational Safety and Health Agency, with pollution handled separately.

Mr Palmer said the Government would consider the report as part of the resource management law reform process.