The general agreement on trades and tariffs 1994 and the north American free trade agreement : Initiatives to eliminate technical barriers to trade

Many Canadian business import goods into Canada or export goods from Canada. These businesses should be knowledgeable about national product standarts, technical requirements, health and safety regulations and environmental regulations which can act as technical barriers for those companies importing or exporting goods. Fortunately, international trade agreements such as the General Agreenment on Trades and Tariffs 1994 and the North American Free Trade agreenment do not impose or encourage these types of technical barries to trade. Instead, these agreenments encourage harmonization of regulations and standards among their members, and the implementation of international standards, such as the ISO 9000 and the ISO 14000, which will reduce the likelihood of national standards and regulations acting as barries to trade (AU)

U.N. = United Nations Small Business Administration : Disaster assistance program for you, your family, your business

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a federally funded program that offers low-interest, long-term disaster loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses in the aftermath of a disaster. SBA issues applications, inspects damaged property, and provides the funds needed to rebuild lives. Rececently, SBA has taken several innovative steps to meet the needs of disaster victims. For example, in 1994 SBA made the loan process easier for customers: we simplified disaster loan filing requierements by reducing the amount of information needed; we doubled loan limits for homeowners and renters; we made Internal Revenue Service representatives available at disaster application centers to improve access to documents needed to complete loan applications; we expanded the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program to include owners of real estate; and we eased criteria for major source of employment loan applicants. With its mission of efficiency and tradition of commitment to personalized service, SBA continues to reduce the burden of disaster recovery

Chapter 5 : Earthquake risk reduction and small business

This chapter represents our current understanding of earthquake risk reduction and small business, with special reference on the Eastern and Central United States, where there is the potential for infrequent strong and potentially damaging earthquakes. It is based on a literature review and ongoing research. Three topics are emphasized: (1) alternative approaches to earthquake risk reduction, (2) insurance as a loss reduction measure, and (3) unanswered questions requiring further research. Our research is oriented toward developing practical policy advice for businesses and for local, State, and national governments. It is multidisciplinary, embracing finance, decision theory, risk assessment, systems design, and systems management. A typology is developed for basic small business hazard mitigation goals. Financial models are developed so that the aggregate consequences of earthquakes on small businesses can be assessed, with and without benefit of earthquake insurance. Examining the financial consequences of potential earthquakes will enable us to derive conclusions pertaining to improvements in public policies for small business risk reduction. The characteristics affecting the vulnerability small business to earthquakes are identified and examined on the basis of hypotheses about organizational, financial, and market effects. Research on these hypothesized relationships is expected to result in cost-effective loss reduction measures for small business that are not dependent on structural mitigation measures or insurance.(AU)

Aids for decision - making in the case of a release of hazardous chemicals

In the case of an alarm caused by a release of a hazardous substance the decision - maker responsible has little time to consider appropriate measures for protection of the public. Decisions have to be taken, however, within a few minutes after realizing the danger. To come to the right decision about which measure is suitable and can be performed for the protection of an endangered part of the public, the emergency response coordinator needs some aids. His decision usually leads to one of these four possibilities: evacuation, clearance horizontal, clearance vertical, stay put. Some aids to marking the decision are: early warning systems, e.g. Four stage leverkusen model, procedures to limited the zones which are endangered and/or to be warned/informed/calmed, e.g. Model for effects of Toxic Gases, MET and the SAFER System. Fnally the decision - market has to assess the changes of protection by staying indoors. A place in a house may serve as a Temporary Safe Haven in the case of a limited gas impact duration provided the building is in a good condition, i.e. gas - tight (AU)

The creation of vulnerability to natural disaster : Case studies from the Dominican Republic

This paper argues that natural disasters are not a category of events which can be separated from the broader issues of development, since economic change can create vulnerability to natural disaster. The analysis of case studies from the Dominican Republic shows how the development of large scale commercialized agricultural production has created such vulnerability by reducing or restricting the resource base of certain sectors of a population. It is suggested that the vulnerable state of a population. Therefore there is a need both for a broader framework for analysis of disasters and for strategies to reduce such vulnerability to be an integral part of long term development planning (AU)