United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pollution Prevention
Washington, DC 20460
Pollution Prevention Fact Sheet
Summer
The EPA now regulates over 2,500 environmental pollutants, mostly chemicals, that are listed in over 20 different EPA laws or regulations. The number of statutory lists is growing still larger as Congress amends existing environmental laws. The lists themselves undergo frequent change as EPA adds and deletes entries, based on new information and studies.
At present, there is no central record at EPA of all the chemicals on these lists. Nor is there an Agency database that can provide timely answers to questions such as, "Does EPA regulate chemical X?" "How is this chemical regulated?" "Where can I get further information on chemical X?"
The "List of Lists" project is an effort on the part of EPA to (1) create an official register of all EPA statutory and regulatory chemical fists, and (2) establish a mechanism to ensure the continual updating of the register as the status of chemicals on the lists change.
The register will serve as a cross-media management tool to encourage integration of information across EPA's programs. It will strengthen the nation's pollution prevention efforts by designating clearly those environmental pollutants that have been the subject of most concern. It will enable EPA to respond quickly to questions from the regulated community, the states, and the public. And it will help in conducting more efficient multi-media field inspections and in any cross-media integrated permitting activities in the future.
EPA has formed an Agency-wide List of Lists Workgroup, managed by the Office of Pollution Prevention within the Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation. All EPA Assistant Administrators and Regional Administrators have designated representatives to the workgroup. A report released in April 1990 summarizes the consensus decisions reached by the workgroup on the purpose of the register, the anticipated audience, basic criteria for system design, initial information content, and management of the register.
Further work is now proceeding in subcommittees, on issues such as procedures for updating the register, quality assurance and control, list integration, and nomenclature. By the summer of 1990, EPA expects to complete the initial phase of the project. This will involve updating a prototype computer system, pilot testing the system in EPA's Headquarters and Regional Offices, and resolving issues for the final design.
For Further For further information, contact Nancy Beach in EPA's Office of Information: Pollution Prevention, (202) 475-7383.
Last Updated: January 16, 1996