TOXIC SITE IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM (TSIP)

The Toxic Site Identification Program (TSIP) endeavours to identify and screen contaminated sites in low- and middle-income countries where public health is at risk. The TSIP is not intended to be a comprehensive inventory of such sites, but rather is an effort to begin to understand the scope of the problem. More than 3,100 sites have been identified so far, and more than 1,800 screened on site. These sites alone represent a potential health risk to more than 80 million poor people. However, these 3,000 sites likely represent a small fraction of the overall total. By way of example, over the past twenty years, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has identified tens of thousands of sites in the US alone that require remediation, and its National Priorities List for urgent remediation currently contains more than 1,300 sites. [1] Analysis of the data and trends in the TSIP database indicates that as many as 200 million people may be affected.

In order to carry out site assessments, Pure Earth utilizes a network of national experts in each country to visit and document hazardous waste sites. These national investigators, often from the environment or health departments at a national university, are trained to identify and assess contaminated sites using a rapid assessment tool called the Initial Site Screening (ISS) protocol.  Government representatives also attend the training.  The ISS identifies major elements of a contaminated site, including estimated population at risk, key pollutant information, human exposure pathway data and sampling data. As part of the training, a field visit is made by the group to demonstrate the methodology for assessing the human health impact of toxic sites. Since 2012, GAHP has held training workshops in fourteen countries, and trained nearly 150 investigators and 90 government representatives how to identify and assess toxic sites.

TSIP Training Accra, Ghana
March 22-23, 2012
Investigators present: 18
Government personnel present: 2

TSIP Training Antananarivo, Madagascar
March 25-27, 2014
Investigators present: 7
Government personnel present: 5

TSIP Training Astana, Kazakhstan
June 12-13, 2012
Investigators present: 6
Government personnel present: 2

TSIP Training Baku, Azerbaijan
March 1-2, 2012
Investigators present: 8
Government personnel present: 15

TSIP Training Baku, Azerbaijan
March 1-2, 2014
Investigators present: 8
Government personnel present: 15

TSIP Training Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
April 7-8, 2012
Investigators present: 5
Government personnel present: 6

TSIP Training Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
April 7-8, 2014
Investigators present: 5
Government personnel present: 6

TSIP Training- Buenos Aires, Argentina
February 28-29, 2012
Investigators present: 7
Government personnel present: 4

TSIP Training Dakar, Senegal
February 19-20, 2013
Investigators present: 15
Government personnel present: 12

TSIP Training Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
April 26-27, 2012
Investigators present: 17
Government personnel present:2

TSIP Training Dhaka, Bangladesh
July 14-15, 2009
Investigators present: 4

TSIP Training Dushanbe, Tajikistan
March 30-31, 2012
Investigators present: 6
Government personnel present: 4

TSIP Training Dushanbe, Tajikistan
March 30-31, 2014
Investigators present: 6
Government personnel present: 4

TSIP Training Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
October 15-17, 2009
Investigators present: 10

TSIP Training Lagos, Nigeria
March 28-29, 2012
Investigators present: 10
Government personnel present: 14

TSIP Training La Paz, Bolivia
June 18-20, 2013
Investigators present: 4
Government personnel present: 4

TSIP Training Lima, Peru
March 14-15, 2012
Investigators present: 10
Government personnel present: 7

TSIP Training Los Banos, Philippines
October 4-6, 2009
Investigators present: 9

TSIP Training Mexico City, Mexico
February 21-22, 2012
Investigators present: 12
Government personnel present: 2

TSIP Training Montevideo, Uruguay
March 7-9, 2012
Investigators present: 5
Government personnel present: 4

TSIP Training Nairobi, Kenya
May 2-3, 2012
Investigators present: 15
Government personnel present: 1

TSIP Training Phnom Penh, Cambodia
August 14-16, 2010
Investigators present: 4

TSIP Training Santiago, Chile
August 1-2, 2012
Investigators present: 7
Government personnel present: 16

TSIP Training Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
July 3-4, 2013
Investigators present: 8
Government personnel present: 9

TSIP Training Vladivostok, Russia
July 23, 2012
Investigators present: 4

TSIP Training Yerevan, Armenia
March 6-7, 2012
Investigators present: 6
Government personnel present: 13

TSIP Training Yerevan, Armenia
March 6-7, 2014
Investigators present: 6
Government personnel present: 13