Rapid industrialization throughout the Asia and Pacific region is being accompanied by incresases in the manufacture, transport, and consumption of a variety of chemical compounds. Although highly useful, these chemicals often pose risks to human health and ecosystems because of their hazardous characteristics (toxicity, flammability, corrosivity, and reactivity). At any stage from manufacture to final disposal, hazardous chemicals may escape containment, enter the biosphere, and become hazardous waste...

The Pacific Basin presents special opportunities for technical collaboration.

First, it is the most rapidly developing region in the world. Second, limited land areas, vulnerable coastal ecosystems, and unique tropical climatic conditions exacerbate the problems of hazardous waste treatment and disposal. research cooperation is being fostered by growing intraregional trade, new means of technical exchange, and maturation of research institutions.

Taking into account the above factors, a group of scientists and engineers met in 1986 to form the Pacific Basin Consortium for Hazardous Waste Research and Management. The objectives of the Consortium are to:

• Identify, assess, and prioritize waste management problems common to Pacific Basin nations.
• Promote research, engineering, and demonstration of hazardous waste management technologies to solve the identified problems.
• Establish effective methods for exchanging information and transferring technology.
• Provide technical personnel with training opportuinties in both mature and advanced technologies.

The aim is to speed the conduct of research and its applications and to reduce the cost of managing hazardous waste for all members, including those at the forefront of this field.