August 1996 WHO-UNEP GEMS/AIR TWINNING PROGRAM Background Since l970, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) have coordinated the operation of a worldwide air pollution monitoring program known as the Global Environmental Monitoring System/AIR (GEMS/AIR). USEPA has continuously provided technical support for this program, initially as a research project through the Office of Research & Development (ORD) and, since October 1993, is providing long-term computer, data analysis, quality assurance, and technical support through a five-year bilateral agreement with the WHO. The project support at the EPA comes from: 1) the Emissions, Monitoring, and Analysis Division of the Office of Air Quality & Planning Standards (OAQPS), and 2) the Quality Assurance Branch of ORD's National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL). Besides routine support functions, OAQPS will join the WHO in periodically analyzing air quality trends on the cities in the world participating in GEMS/AIR. GEMS/AIR has been operating more than 250 ambient air monitoring stations in over 50 nations since 1970, and plans to greatly expand its network by the year 2000. The focus will be on enhancing the air monitoring capabilities in developing countries, as a step toward eventual development of air quality plans and legislation to address frequently severe air pollution problems. The focus of this expanded GEMS/AIR program, which in the past has been SO2 and TSP, will be PM-10, ozone, lead, CO and NOx. To help with this expansion in both numbers and types of air monitors, WHO/UNEP and USEPA have developed the Twinning Program. The idea of the Twinning Project is to match developed country programs and organizations with those in developing country programs. A developed country program can provide operational equipment and technical support to aid the developing country to join the GEMS/AIR, improve its existing air monitoring program, and/or expands its monitoring capability to include additional pollutants. Summary The Twinning Program offers United States air pollution control agencies an opportunity to help developing countries by donating their used air monitors to one of these countries. Meteorological and chemical lab equipment is also needed in many developing countries. Most states and local agencies in the U.S. (1) have used funding under the 1990 Clean Air Act to upgrade their monitoring systems to state-of-the-art or (2) do not need to monitor pollutants for which solutions have been found. The monitors, though not necessarily state-of-the-art in the U.S. but clearly operational, would provide improved monitoring data in most developing countries. This would lead to a major improvement in understanding the worldwide impacts of air pollution on public health. In 1994, the Ventura County, California Air Pollution Control Board agreed to become the first agency to participate in the GEMS/AIR Twinning Project. WHO/UNEP provided support for its Director, Richard Baldwin, (805) 645-1440 (DB@vcapcd.mhs.compuserve.com - internet), to travel to three countries in Southeast Asia to learn the technical and political feasibility for his agency's participation. The Philippines were selected and the initial donation of equipment from Ventura County was located in Metropolitan Manila. The Asia Foundation provided a four-week fellowship for an air quality monitoring manager from the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources. He was trained in the use of the equipment while it was still operating in Ventura County, and provided skills in network design and equipment repair. WHO/UNEP provided funding to ship the monitoring equipment, in two stages over a 12-month period, to Manila. The donated equipment is now in operation at DENR in Manila. The WHO/UNEP and USEPA feel that this initial effort under the Twinning Project has been very successful, and has provided both critical information and useful experience toward a greatly expanded program. Future Activities Twenty-two countries, twenty-one U.S. agencies, one European agency, and four private sector organizations have expressed an Interest in participating in the Twinning Project. Interest has been expressed from U.S. air pollution control agencies in California, Arizona, Maryland, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Nevada, the Virgin Islands, Washington, and Wisconsin. Countries in Asia (Indonesia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Viet Nam), Africa (Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco, Ghana, and Tunisia), Latin America (Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela), Europe (Romania, Russia, and Armenia) have shown an interest to receive monitors. Private sector interest have come from Husky Oil (Canada), and Dasibi instruments, among others. The California Air Resources Board indicated that it could provide monitors covering six different pollutants. CARB will shortly send some of these monitors to Kenya and Nepal. In Nepal, the donation of equipment will establish the first network for monitoring air quality for this rapidly urbanizing nation. In the first multi-national agreement to donate monitors, the Great Basin Unified APCD of California and The Netherlands agreed to twin with Ghana. The newest twinning agreement is between the State of Maryland and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We are actively seeking donors for India, Lake Baikal (Russia), Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Uruguay. Participants in GEMS/AIR activities have learned that it will take considerable resources to fully use the vast potential donations of used air monitors transferred from developed to developing countries. Not only does the available equipment need be identified, but funds will be needed to ship equipment, travel to potential recipient countries, deal with maintenance problems, and provide training. Assistance from the World Bank and the U.S. AID is also being sought. One area that seems to hold some potential is the private sector, specifically the air monitoring equipment manufacturers. U.S. equipment manufacturers are rarely present when developing countries initiate monitoring programs, and participation in the twining program might lead to greatly expanded markets for these firms. Roles and Responsibilities The following persons can be contacted regarding the GEMS/Air Program. At the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Dietrich H. Schwela {(41 22 791 42 61 - telephone) (+ 41 27 fax) (Schwelad@WHO.ch - internet)} has the overall responsibility for coordinating the WHO/UNEP GEMS/AIR Program. David Calkins, {(510 254-5942 - telephone and fax) (davcalkins@aol.com - internet)}, a consultant to the WHO, is coordinating twinning activities between the EPA, U.S. air pollution agencies, and specific developing countries. Tom Curran, OAQPS, (919) 541-5559, has the overall lead in the GEMS/AIR program for the EPA, with John Bosch, (919) 541-5545, the lead at OAQPS for the twinning project. EPA's Quality Assurance Branch in the NERL, ORD, serves as the GEMS/AIR Quality Assurance Regional Support Center for North and South America. Dr. Leonor Childers, {(919 541-2574 - telephone) (childers.leonor@epamail.epa.gov - internet)}, is the contact person at NERL.