Problem
Inadequate enforcement of environmental regulations
Other Names:
Unenforced public health ordinancesLax enforcement of safety requirements
Non-reinforced safety factors
Disregard for safety principles and techniques
Inadequate safety precautions
Incidence:
Since 1974, drinking water in the city of Batavia in Illinois, USA has been contaminated with levels of radioactive elements hundreds of times higher than acceptable standards. The city agency charged with enforcing drinking water laws has reneged on its agreement with the state to clean up the pollution, has never issued a warning to consumers and has even connected more residents to the reticulated system. This is one of the 20,000 persistent violations of the law that have occurred in each of the years 1989, 1990 and 1991, only 9% of which cases were the subject of higher enforcement procedures.In 1998 the Inspector General of the US Environment Protection Agency documented widespread failures throughout the USA by local and Federal officials to police the clean air and water laws. Inspectors were failing to inspect factories and the states were falling short of Federal goals. The auditing arm of the agency found waste water treatment plants operating with obsolete permits or without them altogether.
Broader Problems:
Lack of environmental accountabilityArbitrary enforcement of regulationsInadequate prevention of disabilitiesInadequate provision of public safetyInsufficient environmental legislation Related Problems:
Inadequate national law enforcement Aggravates:
Travel risksSubstandard abattoirsPolluted drinking waterExport of banned pesticidesSuppression of safety recordsExport of hazardous industriesInadequate safeguards against fireFailure to apply polluter pays principleViolations of health and safety regulationsInadequate legislation against environmental pollutionMassive avoidable ill-healthShip breaking Strategies:
Ensuring a healthy environmentUsing economic instruments for sustainable developmentEnsuring environmental management of privatizationFinancing public health interventions with substantial externalitiesFacilitating public access to justice in environmental mattersMonitoring enforcement measures of national environmental action plansEnforcing environmental protection regulationDeveloping environmental health action plansEvaluating effects of world trade agreements on public healthEnforcing civil safety measuresEnforcing regulationsEnforcing public health ordinancesImproving enforcement of environmental regulationsProviding inadequate enforcement of regulations Subject(s):
Amenities → Living conditionsSocietal Problems → Safety
Societal Problems → Inadequacy
Health Care → Health
Government → Public
Law → Regulation
Law → Law enforcement
Technology → Technical
Environment → Environment
Principles → Principles
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
13.08.2021 – 17:02 CEST