In 1972 the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, recommended that plans be developed for an international registry of data on chemicals in the environment. In 1978, the Sixth Governing Council of UNEP approved four objectives for IRPTC: to facilitate access to existing data on the effects of chemicals on man and his environment, and thereby contribute to a more efficient use of national and international resources available for the evaluation of effects of chemicals and their control; on the basis of information in the Register, to identify the important gaps in existing knowledge on the effects of chemicals, and call attention to the need for research to fill those gaps; to identify, or help identify, potential hazards from chemicals, and to improve the awareness of such hazards; to provide information about national, regional and global policies, regulatory measures and standards and recommendations for the control of potentially toxic chemicals.