Whereas many toxic materials are necessary raw materials for chemical industry, or the immediate side-products thereof; and
Whereas the irresponsible handling of toxic materials can be grossly harmful to the health of both persons and the environment, such that international action should be taken to regulate the handling of toxic materials in member nations;
The World Assembly enacts as follows.
- For the purposes of this resolution, a material shall be considered "toxic" in an environment or a quantity such that said material would pose, directly or via contamination of surrounding environments, a significant risk to health or of causing environmental degradation.
- No toxic material may be disposed of or otherwise stored in a manner which may contaminate surrounding environments with said material, unless that material is first processed as to minimise its ability to contaminate the surrounding environment. Where said material, after such processing, would still pose a risk of contaminating the surrounding environment, the material may not be disposed of or otherwise stored without being surrounded by an effective physical barrier preventing said toxic material from contaminating the surrounding environment.
- Any site in which toxic material is disposed of, processed, produced, or stored must have its immediate surrounding areas regularly tested for toxic material originating from said site.
- The Toxic Materials Commission (TMC) is established. Upon the detection of an environment being contaminated by toxic material during storage, production, or disposal of the same, the entity responsible for said incident of contamination must promptly report that incident to the TMC, as well as the member nation of jurisdiction.
- The TMC shall publish the occurrence of said incident without undue delay. Further, should that incident threaten the environment of another nation, the TMC shall provide to that nation a recommended means for minimising or resolving harm, as a result of said incident, to that nation's environment. This shall not include harm sufficiently minimised by 4b efforts which have occurred, are occurring, or are to occur.
- The member nation responsible for said incident shall, to the best of its ability, collaborate with the TMC to remove said toxic material from areas under member or consenting non-member nation jurisdiction contaminated with that material as a result of said incident; except where the TMC has received clear and factual evidence that such removal will cause greater harm to that nation's environment than whatever harm is mitigated by such efforts. No member nation or entity therein may wilfully obstruct such removal efforts.
- Member nations need not take action against isolated, de minimis violations of Sections 2 - 4, where the quantity of toxic material involved is negligible enough to pose no cognisable hazard to the environment or public health.
- All research and data from the jurisdiction of a member nation vis-à-vis the toxicity of materials, or alternatives to toxic materials, must be shared with the TMC, by that member nation or any entity with intellectual property rights over said research or data.
- Such information need not be provided where that nation or entity lacks practical access to such research or data; that research or data has already been received by the TMC; or the accessing, provision, or distribution of that information is demonstrably likely to compromise national security or personal privacy.
- The TMC shall materially compensate any entity with intellectual property rights over said research or data no more or less than necessary to minimise any financial or other material losses which would be otherwise incurred by said entity as a result of the provision or Section 7 distribution of said research or data.
- The TMC shall provide to member nations information it has received per Section 6, where such information is likely to help said nations replace, address the dangers of, or reduce toxic materials, except where providing said information is likely to compromise national security or personal privacy.
- Previous World Assembly resolutions shall take precedence over this one in the case of contradiction.
