UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Press Release

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Working together to reduce the risk of industrial accidents


Geneva and Budapest, 29 October 2004 - Meeting in Budapest this week (27-29 October), the Parties to the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents1 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), have launched an assistance programme for the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia to help them put the Convention into practice. A number of Central and West European countries have pledged funding to get the programme off the ground.

The programme will benefit countries where few industrial facilities have been modernized and most still use obsolete technologies in outdated and poorly maintained installations. These facilities also have to deal with the legacy of past mismanagement, such as unstable tailings dams and accumulated hazardous waste. The risk of industrial accidents and other safety problems will increase with any growth in capacity utilization. The authorities and the operators of hazardous installations can reduce the risk of industrial accidents and improve industrial safety by applying the Convention in full.

The Convention’s second implementation report unfortunately shows this is still not happening. In fact, some UNECE countries are facing an uphill struggle. They find the tasks under the Convention complex and don’t have the staff to implement, monitor and enforce them. In addition, in some countries the appropriate regulatory and institutional frameworks are not in place.

The new assistance programme is designed to help the recipient countries to overcome these obstacles. In preparation, the beneficiaries are required to show a strong commitment to improving industrial safety. They are also expected to implement basic tasks under the Convention, which will be verified by fact-finding teams. The programme itself will comprise a series of demand-driven activities such as capacity-building workshops, technical and legal advisory services and cross-border pilot projects.

Also on the agenda of the three-day meeting are the Parties’ efforts to: strengthen their communication procedures with their early warning system to notify each other of industrial accidents; and continue work aimed at preventing accidental water pollution, including by drawing up safety guidelines for pipelines. The Parties have already elected a new chairman. He’s Mr Ryszard Grosset of Poland.

For more information, visit the Convention’s web site at

http://www.unece.org/env/teia/welcome.html

or contact:

Sergiusz Ludwiczak
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41 (0)22 917 31 74
Mobile: +41 (0)79 217 30 11
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]

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1 The UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents currently has 33 Parties: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the European Community.

Ref: ECE/ENV/04/P17