The Intersectoral Committee for Chemicals Safety (hereinafter: the ICCS) was established in 1996 based on the Government of the RS decision No. 530-03/96-2/1-8 as at July 25th  1996, and was at the time referred to as the  Committee for Hazardous Material Management. When it comes to chemical safety development in the RS, the ICCS has been codified by the Chemicals Act (ZKem-UPB1, Official Journal RS, No. 110/2003 –consolidated text and 47/2004-ZdZPZ). In 2005, the ICCS was re-established by way of the Decision on the establishment, composition and method of approach of the Intersectoral Committee for Chemical Safety No. 01201-31/2005/6, as at 6. 10. 2005 (Official Gazette  RS, No. 93/2005) based on  Article 56 of the Chemicals Act, and was charged to coordinate  responsible ministries in pursuing national policies, programmes and measures based  on the Chemicals Act and other chemicals rules, as well as providing comprehensive and coherent development of chemical safety nationally.

Intersectoral Committee for Chemical Safety consists of relevant representatives of line ministries, the economy, social activities, NGOs and other stakeholders engaged in anyone phase of chemicals life cycle.

It is the ICCS that appoint its chairperson and its deputy among its members according to the principle of rotation. The appointment requires a majority vote. .The Decision on the establishment of the ICCS also appointed its first chairperson, Marta Ciraj PhD, NCB Director.

It is its Secretariat based within the National Chemicals Bureau that coordinates the work of ICCS and its provisional and standing committees. The ICCS’s secretary is Darja Boštjančič who is not its member, but has been appointed as its secretary by the Director of the National Chemicals Bureau. The Secretariat is responsible for carrying out professional, administrative and technical tasks. Its legislative foundations have been defined in Article 60 (11) of the Chemicals Act.

Performance of ICCS and its committees

The ICCS drafts measures and programmes for sound management of chemicals, coordinates intersectoral projects  pertaining to chemical safety internationally, promotes relevant information exchange, tackles chemical safety releted issues, participates in drafting the national chemical safety programme  and action plans in the framework of its SAICM related tasks. What is more, the ICCS is charged to provide annual reports on its performance to the Government of the RS.

 
The ICCS may, in line with Article 3 of the Decision on its establishment, set up additional subcommittees on its own.  The Standing Committee for Chemical Accidents was set up in parallel with the ICCS in order to provide professional and technical bases. Its foundation is based on Article 3 of the Decision on the establishment, composition and method of approach of the ICCS (Official Gazette  RS, No. 93/2005).

The main missions of the  Standing Committee for Chemical Accidents are as follows:

• Systematic coordination of relevant line ministries’ performance when it comes to prevention of and response to chemical accidents, as well as deliberating the draft National Chemical Safety Programme with focus on priority area of chemical accidents;
• Drawing up an inventory of a shortage of equipment for protection against and rescue in chemical accidents with the aim of capitalizing on available project funds of the European Commission; 
• Other activities undertaken to increase protection against chemical accidents.
   
  

What is more, the ICCS at its 4th session on December 12th 2005 also set up and Intersectoral Committee for Coordination of Monitoring of Water Pollution with Chemicals, and charged it with harmonizing water monitoring programmes and data base linkage. Its main tasks is to take decisions regarding organizational, technical, professional, legislative and other improvements to be made so as to mutually harmonize existing water monitoring programmes, and to integrate relevant data bases run by different line ministries.

The aim of coordinating these monitoring programmes and integrate relevant data bases is also to increase quality and compatibility of data on pollution of drinking water sources (underground and surface water) so as to use these data for conducting risk assessments and for taking decisions on risk reduction measures. 

 
The members of the Standing Committee for Chemical Accidents met for the first time in December 2005 to address the requirements by the European Commission to have situation assessment made as well as assessment of needs for regarding chemical accident rescue equipment. To this end, the European Commission earmarked 150.000 EUR worth of project funds, with an open European call for proposals being carried out. The tendering procedure selected a partner from the Netherlands to carry out a project Transition Facility »Feasibility Study on Equipment in Chemical Safety «. This Feasibility study has focused on a number of other priority areas of chemical safety, and has taken place from December 2006 until December 2007. Its successful implementation rested on active engagement of all relevant line ministries.  The first meeting of the Intersectoral Committee for Coordination of Monitoring of Water Pollution with Chemicals was in April 2006. The Committee was also involved in Phare Project Chemical Safety II, with the Committee members, along with other relevant international project experts, reviewing the possible integration of data bases on water pollution monitoring (drinking, underground and surface) that fall within the remit of various line ministries. Feasibility Study has been charged to draw up technical specifications for linking these data bases.
 

Owing to a  sense of urgency to address the draft Resolution on the National Chemical Safety Programme containing action plans and priority areas  between 2006 and 2010 (OJ RS, No. 119/2006), the ICCS has its first informal session as early as on September 29th 2005, i.e. a couple of days prior of its official establishment.  Since its foundation in October 2005 and until the end of December 2005, the ICCS held 3 additional sessions) (26. 10. 2005, 23.11.2005, 21.12.2005) to give priority attention to the draft Resolution on the National Chemical Safety Programme, to amend it and adopted it for further deliberations within the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. Focus has also been placed on devising guidelines for storage of mixed hazardous chemicals, setting up a central platform for information exchange among inspectors from different inspectorates, and draft rules of procedure of the ICCS. In 2006, the ICCS held another regular session on June 2nd, as well as 4 correspondence sessions (10. 3. 2006, 9. 6. 2006, 13. 7. 2006, 27. 11. 2006) where it addressed and confirmed the draft rules of procedure on the performance of the ICCS, as well as devoting due attention to the proposal of appointing Marta Ciraj PhD, director of the National Chemicals Bureau, to the vice-chairperson of the Intergovernmental Forum for Chemical Safety for CEE Region, as well as the proposal of appointing the National Chemicals Bureau as the national focal point for SAICM. What is more, the ICCS’s 5th session on June 2nd 2006 focused on the presentation of the EU Footprint Project as well as dealing with the issue of the intended construction of gas terminals in the bay of Trieste. Significantly, the ICCS also adopted the Resolution on the National Chemical Safety Programme in addition to addressing the draft programme of interdisciplinary study of toxicology and ecotoxicology at 2nd and 3rd level of higher education, and solemnly celebrated the Chemical Safety Week taking place between May 29th and June 4th 2006.
 
In 2007, the 1st regular ICCS session took place on April 3rd 2007, with the chairmanship of the ICCS being passed over to NGOs. The then Minister of Health, Andrej Bručan awarded Jože Mačak and Metka V. Budihna recognitions for their longstanding contribution to the development of chemical safety in the Republic of Slovenia. Similarly, the Minister also expressed his profound gratitude to the Committee for providing expert opinion on suitability of biocidal products, as well as to the Committee for providing expert opinion on suitability of plant protection products. It has not be pointed out that both committees used be part and parcel of the National Chemicals Bureau.

What is more, the ICCS also approved of the amendments to the Decision on the establishment, composition and method of work of the ICCS, familiarized itself with the draft action plan on implementing SAICM in Slovenia, became acquinted with the assessment of chemical safety of children in the Republic of Slovenia, as well as being apprised of the Feasibility Study Project, Chemical Safety III Project, and last but not least, handed over the chairmanship of the ICCS to Marjana Peterman, an NGO representative.  

The chairperson of the ICCS is Marjana Peterman, Slovene Consumer Association, Frankopanska 5, 1000 Ljubljana, telephone: 01/474-06-00, fax: 01/433-33-71, e-mail: Marjana.Peterman(at)zps.si.
 
Secretary of the ICCS: Darja Boštjančič, deputy secretary, Ministry of Health/National Chemicals Bureau, Ajdovščina 4, 1000 Ljubljana, telephone: 041/787-784, fax: 01/478-62-66, e-mail: Darja.Bostjancic(at)gov.si.