This chapter attempts to provide a nation-wide overview of the resources utilised for the purposes of chemicals management. It notes that the tasks of governmental bodies – ministries, agencies, authorities and background institutes – in connection with the management of different groups of chemicals are governed by regulations. Their expenses are generally financed by the state budget. In certain cases the costs of an administrative procedure are borne by the requesting party (applicant).

The chapter uses tables to list available resources.

The activities and tasks pertaining to chemicals management and chemical safety are manifold. The Profile attempts to assess the number and the qualifications of people working in this area, but variations in the content and structure of data supplied, and problems associated with extracting the necessary data mean that this is incomplete. The structure of resources available at governmental institutes and the NGO operated laboratories they have ties with can be assessed relatively accurately. In saying this, we must note that laboratories operated by the academic sector also receive most of their funding from the government, although their main areas of activity are different, and their sources of financing (work done under contract, or as part of an enterprise) are more varied. Because (and in part, in spite) of this, it can be seen that data from governmental institutions should form the basis of estimates regarding the costs of establishing and operating a system of sound chemicals management and chemical safety, all the more so, because the majority of relevant tasks are concentrated in these institutions.

We have estimated the necessary resources – on the basis of data on resources available at governmental institutions – to be between 4500-6500 million HUF. This figure may be modified by eliminating overlaps between activities of different institutions, and by taking into account solutions necessary to fulfil the requirements of joining the EU.

Of course, this does not mean that safety expenditures in the "regulated sphere" – the production, import, processing, use, etc. of chemicals – do not form the basis of the general level of chemical safety in Hungary.

These expenditures are many times those that are financed by the government.