Possible
Information Resources for Identifying Declarable Activities
How to associate products with facilities
1. Computerised databases
In principle it must be said that there is no computerised, commercially available database that is designed to provide a user with the ability to directly correlate lists of chemicals with lists of organisations which produce, process or consume those chemicals. However, it is possible to locate some data for some of the scheduled chemicals for facilities in some countries. Databases that have the ability to search their data by chemical name or by chemical identification numbers such as CAS or EINECS (European Inventory Existing Commercial Chemical Substances) are particularly useful. Databases are published and licensed by a number of commercial firms, for example the Scientific and Technical Information Network, International (STN) headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany and Dialogue Information Services, Inc., located in Palo Alto, California, USA. These companies will license users to access specific databases via telephone modems and will then charge the users for the computer time spent using the databases.
inter alia:
| Chemical Abstracts | Can be searched by chemical and will contain source data including names of organisations and chemical industry facilities; worldwide coverage. |
| Chemical Business News Base | Includes chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals with correlations to companies and countries. Possible source of manufacturing volume information; worldwide coverage. |
| Cheminform RX | Correlates products with their chemical reactants. |
| Chemical Industry Notes | Correlates specific chemicals with business activities; worldwide coverage. |
| Chem Sources (CSCHEM) | Correlates chemical products and suppliers; worldwide coverage. |
| CSCORP | Correlates chemical products and suppliers; worldwide coverage. |
| Gmelin | Primarily scientific information, but will also access patent data which can be used for organisation/company correlations; worldwide coverage. |
| Phar | Correlates company names with products and associated chemicals; worldwide coverage. |
| Beistein Online | Primarily scientific information, but will also access patent data which can be used for organisation/company correlations; worldwide coverage. |
| Derwent World | Can correlate chemicals and organisation/companies; Patents Index worldwide coverage. |
| EINECS | European listing of 100,000 substances including very toxic substances (available on CD-ROM). |
2.
Governmental records and databases
All governments collect and organise import/export, financial, transport, tax, employment data etc. Most governments will try to organise this data in a such way as to allow it to be readily available for planning and reference purposes. Examples are the following:
The majority of States employ a so-called Harmonised System (HS) of tariffs which is based on numerical designators for products. Since the licenses are applied for by organisations and companies, a correlation can then be made between a type (or category) of product of the HS and the organisation/company. In many countries the HS records are amplified in the case of chemical products to include indication of specific chemicals identified by CAS or EINECS numbers. Unfortunately this detailed information, which is directly applicable to the facility identification process, is often protected by privacy legislation. In many countries the chemical industry is required to notify certain governmental agencies of the use of chemical substances to produce products. Familiar lists include the European Community's EINECS list, the United States of America's Toxic Substances Control Act Inventory, the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances, the Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry List, etc. These lists are supported by detailed information on chemical production locations and production volumes. Any changes are periodically updated so that these lists and their supporting data remain evergreen. However, as in the cases of import and export data, privacy laws often preclude access to the information.
Environmental Permit Records
Many countries have environmental laws which require extensive application procedures to prove that chemical industry production and plant construction plans are consistent with the environmental interests of the country. This process involves the provision of precise chemical process and facility location information. Where this information is organised on a regional or national level it will be an excellent source of chemical versus facility information.
Transportation Permits
Environmental and safety concerns have led many countries to require permits to move chemical products by rail, barge, ship, and truck. These permits will include the name of the chemical(s) and facility source/destination information. Where this information is organised on a regional or national level, it can be used to identify facilities involved with specific chemicals.
Port Authority Permits
Closely related to the transportation permits are permits to berth ships laden with chemicals. These permits will contain specific chemical, ownership and transporter information.
Ministry of Finance Records, Government Enterprise Records, Patent Office Information
The ways in which countries tax organisations and companies operate on their territory is highly variable. The information concerning organisation/company operations, coincident with collection of financial data, is also variable. In countries with nationalised industry (governmentally owned and operated chemical plants/operations), and/or military operated chemical facilities, the National Authority may be able to directly access chemical and production volume data. In this case, considerations concerning security may affect access. Most countries have patent offices which will have carefully cross-referenced information on the organisations/companies which have applied for patent coverage for their products. Searches can be pursued by manual or electronic means to correlate specific chemical and organisation/company identifications. Because the patent applications will also contain pertinent references to other organisations/companies which pursue related chemical activities, the location of one useful patent will often result in leads to additional organisations and companies. After the patent application process is complete, the patents and their information are a matter of public record and are readily accessible to researchers.
3. Chemical Industry Associations
In many countries chemical industrial firms have established organisations which are supported by the financial contributions from member firms and which function to promote interests common to most members. These organisations will have a large proportion of member companies which are basic producers of chemicals. They will also tend to have larger chemical companies as members as opposed to smaller processors and consumers. Thus these associations cannot be expected to represent or even know of all chemical users in their respective countries. However, they will typically cover the firms responsible for a majority of chemical production activities. Some of these organisations have also undertaken activities in relation to the interests of specific subdivisions of their membership. Thus, subcommittees may exist for work on projects related to organophosphorus chemicals, phosgenes, etc. These organisations are excellent sources to canvas for facility information. Whereas it is difficult to search for generic chemical information in an electronic database, a panel of technical and business experts can easily address generic subject matter.
Other industry associations can also be used as resources. In some cases chemicals and facilities which pursue activities relevant to the Convention are members of organisations which do not consider themselves to be "chemical". These can include pharmaceutical, pesticide, and agrochemical associations. As in the chemical industry, these associations promote the common interests of their membership.
4. Chambers of Commerce
Many countries have national and regional chambers of commerce, which are organisations geared to promote the commercial and financial interests of their membership. Although these organisations are not typically focused on the chemical industry, they do have a spectrum of kinds of businesses. This diversity can be especially valuable in locating facilities in which venture projects might be using small quantities of Schedule 1 chemicals for research; or in locating companies which might be involved in the processing or consumption of Schedule 2 chemicals at low volumes in terms of production, but are still above Convention threshold use levels. Organisations such as these may not be members of chemical or other industry associations, and therefore will not be "counted" by these production-oriented organisations. Thus, chambers of commerce can be used to supplement the information available through the larger chemical industry and related organisations and, in relation to Schedule 2, to identify downstream industries that may be declarable.
5. Commercial Listings and Publications
The focus of this resource entry is on those listings or reference volumes which are available in book, magazine or newspaper format. It should be noted that some of those that are periodical in nature may also be available in electronic format or even through an on-line data system. These resources include, inter alia:
6. Illustrative United Nations Bodies and Non-Profit Public Interest Foundations/Institutions
The following organisations are presented as examples of possible information resources. The listing is not complete and does not constitute an endorsement of the work of these organisations by the Secretariat.