| Montreal, 19/08/2003 – A draft decision document to help determine whether lead should be the subject of a North American Regional Action Plan is now available for public comment.
Prepared for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), the draft Decision Document on Lead under the Sound Management of Chemicals Initiative follows an evaluation conducted by the Commission's Substance Selection Task Force (SSTF). The SSTF concluded that mutual concern exists for possible trinational action.
The Decision Document, and associated public comment period, is the next-to-last step in the process to determine whether lead should be the subject of trinational action. Canada, Mexico and the United States have each initiated actions to reduce releases of lead to the environment in their respective countries.
Lead is a significant environmental contaminant because it is toxic, persistent, and can be accumulated and stored in biological tissues. Lead can enter the food chain following deposition on soil, in surface waters and on plants. The release of lead into the atmosphere by anthropogenic emissions is the primary source of lead in the environment.
The public comment period ends 3 October 2003, at 17:00 EST. Comments on the draft decision document on lead should be sent in writing, electronic mail or fax to:
Doug Wright
Director of Programs
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
393 St-Jacques West, Suite 200
Montreal, Québec (Canada) H2Y 1N9
Fax: (514) 350-4314
E-mail: <dwright@ccemtl.org>
Please note that the CEC posts comments received on its web site following the comment period. Therefore, comments received will be shared publicly.
The draft Decision Document is available in English, French and Spanish and may be downloaded from the CEC's web site at: http://www.cec.org/pubs_docs/documents/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=1261 . Requests for printed copies or additional information may be directed to Erika Hercules at (514) 350-4362 or <ehercules@ccemtl.org>. | 
