Ecological Risks Perspectives from Poland and the United States (1990) / Chapter Skim
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Recommendations for a Science-Based Program of Ecological Risk Assessment and Environmental Protection
Recommendations for a Science-Based Program of Ecological Risk Assessment and Environmental Protection
Pages 389-396
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From page 389... ...
All of the participants in these U.S.-Polish workshops were surprised to learn how similar the official policies of East European countries were to those of the United States and other western countries. For this reason, we recommend Chapter 20 where ltojan has summarized the official policies of East European countries in a way that provides a useful frame of reference for the recommendations that have been developed in this chapter and some of the other chapters of this boot These official policies reflect a combination of political, economic, and social ideals which may affect the degree and intensity of implementation of action programs.
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From page 390... ...
Thus, we believe it is a blueprint for development of enlightened environmental policy not only in Poland and the United States but in many other countries of the world. Figure 1 also underscores the fact that carefully designed environmental monitoring programs are essential for the identification and quantification of ecological trends, such as changing forest productivity or buildup of heavy metals in river sediments.
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From page 391... ...
Monitoring is an essential first step in ecological risk assessment. One of the projects recommended for future collaboration between the United States and Poland is a cooperative research activity aimed at characterizing effects on forest ecosystems from air pollution and other future environmental stresses.
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From page 392... ...
Later, however, other environmental stress factors should be included. · A pilot monitoring project focusing on the United States and Poland should be implemented with collaboration also in other European countries.
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From page 393... ...
Thus, a procedure for regular comparison of environmental monitoring data with biological effects data yields an objective data base with which to prioritize environmental problems and manage ecological risks, i.e., a science-based policy. Development of Science-Based Policy In a very real sense, essentially all regulatory initiatives and much current environmental decision making have a basis in the nsk-assessment approach, i.e., comparison of environmental-fate and environmental-effects information.
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From page 394... ...
Contemporary ecological stresses are demonstrated by chronically degraded air and water quality, as well as the breakdown of ecological structure and function in areas that are most severely impacted. In these heavily impacted areas of Poland and the United States, we have come to realize that the capacity of the environment to assimilate wastes is not infinite, and that degradation of environmental values is the inevitable result of over-stressed ecosystems.
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From page 395... ...
The ecological situation in many areas of the United States and Poland are critical; both environmental concerns and human health are at serious risk in the most heavily developed areas of both countries. If economic development and the qualifier of life in our societies are to be improved, then the costs of environmental control technologies such as wastewater treatment, clean-coal technologies, use of air scrubbers and precipitators, and more ecologically sound methods for agriculture and forest management must be factored into development decisions.
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From page 396... ...
1983. Risk assessment in the federal government: Managing the process.
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