Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. A draft regulation on the handeling of hazardous waste was discussed on Wednesday at a regular Cabinet meeting. Under the government resolution, issued at the Cabinet meeting, the above regulation was approved and all level governors were ordered to introduce the regulation to rural administrative units, organizations, enterprises and citizens, and to place control over the regulation implementation. The passport will be a document confirming the rights to exploit, collect, transport, maintain, bury and eliminate dangerous waste. The regulations aim to protect human health and the surrounding environment from any harmresulting from hazardous waste. The passport has a secret code and will be valid within a defined time limit.

Dangerous and hazardous wastes include flammables, explosives, poisonous and infectious substances that are of harm to people, animals or plants; impact negatively on productivity, biodiversity and ecological equilibrium or spoil the surroundings. A list of 29 kinds of matters, containing dangerous and poisonous chemical substances, was approved in 2003 under order of the Ministers of Health and Environment. Statistics and registration of the above-mentioned and other similar waste have not been issued in recent years. The regulation concerning the provision of the passport has great significance in improving waste management in settlement areas. According to the 2004 survey, there were a total of 487 rubbish-dumps in Ulaanbaatar, 21 aimag centers and other settled areas. In 2005, a total of 552.8 tons of rubbish was produced a day in the nine districts of UB.