ZENICA/PRAGUE – Despite the highly toxic air in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), only limited data on levels of pollution is accessible to the public. The government is failing to meet its international obligations, as well as those under domestic law, and publish a transparent register of major polluters. People thus do not know who is really poisoning them and to what extent and cannot effectively enforce the necessary improvements.
China is a global hotbed for chemically-intensive electronics manufacturing. Inventories of chemical releases known as Pollutant Release and Transfer Registries (PRTR) are a key chemical safety measure for industry accountability. The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) and IPEN jointly released the report, “PRTR: Establishing a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register in China,” on May 8, 2018 in Beijing, China. The report introduces voluntary disclosure efforts undertaken by local departments and NGOs and emphasizes the importance of establishing a mandatory PRTR system with publicly accessible information. The two organizations also convened a discussion with representatives from academia, business and environmental groups on using a PRTR disclosure system to strengthen the management of hazardous chemicals.
