This chapter contains information on non-governmental organisations and institutions, and programmes organised and/or directed by them that aim to promote chemical safety and the sound use and management of chemicals.

Industrial and agricultural organisations, units. Besides the production, formulation, sale, import, export, transport, storage and disposal of chemicals for business reasons or in compliance with relevant regulations, industrial organisations also run a number of programmes on a voluntary basis.

Their purposes include:

• promoting professional interests in the legislative process and in dealing with the various authorities,
• promoting the interests of employers operating in the industry,
• professional representation of the industry on an international level,
• operating information and forecast systems in the interest of the industry in general,
• co-ordinating certain environmental and safety activities,
• co-ordinating commercial policy in general,
• public relations activities, and maintaining contacts with the mass media.

· Responsible Care. The Hungarian Association of the Chemical Industry committed itself to the Programme of Responsible Care in 1991. It took on the task of formulating the national programme, and co-ordinating its execution at the corporate level. The directives governing the Programme of Responsible Care were drawn up in accordance with CEFIC directives.

As part of the programme, several meetings are held each year for high- and mid-level corporate environmental and safety managers, to discuss problems and exchange ideas. Progress in the areas of health, environmental protection and safety are measured with the use of questionnaires.

Since the start of the programme, most chemical companies have instituted a system of "open days", to help build better relations with representatives of the public and environmental groups. This has palpably reduced the level of fear, but much work needs to be done until the chemical industry gains the complete trust of the public.

Companies need to focus more on education, the dissemination of information, and solving problems jointly, both inside the company and outside of it, in order to promote safety and the protection of health and the environment.

Surveys conducted since the programme started show that the chemical industry's record on health protection, safety and environmental protection has improved steadily.

· The Chemical Industry's Warning and Information Centre (CIWIC). The CIWIC is an organisation formed by Hungarian chemical companies on a voluntary basis, aimed at assisting other organisations and persons in preventing and dealing with accidents during the transport of dangerous substances. There are three levels of assistance: consulting, sending experts to the site of the accident, and taking part in rescue efforts.

· The APELL Programme in Hungary. APELL stands for "Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level". The aim of the programme is to help decision makers and technical personnel at the local level gain awareness of the dangers associated with specific facilities and activities, and assist them in the formulation of plans to deal with them. The programme could be useful in providing assistance to handle cases of emergency quickly and with expertise, in case of an accident. As far as we know, execution of the programme has stalled.

Universities, research institutes, private laboratories and libraries play an important role by conducting impact analyses and routine toxicological studies to gain better knowledge of dangerous substances. However, they come into contact with mainstream chemical safety information only sporadically, unlike interest groups (trade unions), which consciously strive to establish continuous contact between the government and employees. Ever more numerous social, public interest, and environmental groups play an increasingly important role in the facilitation of information exchange. This is important, since the considerable expertise and intellectual capacity of these groups is currently not utilised in promoting chemical safety.

Summary: Co-operation of the government and non-governmental organisations in promoting the sound use of chemicals is systematic and increasingly successful in the case of industry and trade unions, but only sporadic as far as the academic and research sectors – both rich in intellectual and technical capacity – are concerned. Social and public interest groups play an increasingly important role primarily in the dissemination of information and education.