The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) is on Wednesday, 5 May 2021 expected to commence a nationwide chemical inventory and effluent quality monitoring across the country.
The exercise which would target facilities involved in the sale and use of chemicals is intended to assess proponents’ adherence to the 2020 chemical importation, transport, handling and storage guidelines of Liberia.
During the exercise, technicians from the EPA will generate data for the national pollutant registry as required under Part V section 51 of the Environmental Protection and Management Law (EPML) of Liberia.
At the end of the exercise, the EPA will develop a registry that accounts for the quantities and locations of all chemical stockpiled in the country, so as to enable it respond to any future natural or environmental disasters, a release from the EPA said.
The exercise will also bring all chemical importers and dealers into full compliance as required by law.
Facilities or businesses involved in chemical importation and supply, cement industries, paint production, breweries production, mattress and foam production, mining activities, agriculture plantations are asked to grant the EPA monitoring team unhindered access to their facilities and provide all requested documents including environmental permit(s), effluent discharge license, chemical importation documents, material safety data sheets (MSDS), monitoring reports, and waste management plan.
Authorities of the EPA are also calling on businesses and firms involved in production of detergents and antimicrobials, explosives and emulsions, fumigation and petrochemicals to grant the monitoring team unrestricted access to their facilities and provide all requested documents.
According to the release, the monitoring team will arrive at each facility in an EPA assigned vehicle and team members will display their working Identification Cards and conform to induction protocols as required by the facility’s health, safety and environment team.
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The EPA reassured the public of its commitment to maintain a safe, clean and healthy environment for this and succeeding generations.
