About OK International

• Mission Statement

• Description of Activities

• Board of Directors

• List of Volunteers

• OK International in the Press

• Newsletter

Mission Statement

Occupational Knowledge International works to build capacity in developing countries to identify, monitor, and mitigate environmental and occupational exposures to hazardous materials in order to protect public health and the environment. The organization provides technical assistance through partnerships, training, and environmental audit and certification programs, with a commitment to public health tenets, scientific principles and corporate responsibility.

Description of Activities

The following is a brief description of our program areas:

Plant/Product Certification

We believe that new opportunities are emerging to further cooperation between businesses and nonprofit organizations in improving environmental programs at industrial facilities in developing countries. To exploit these opportunities, we have initiated an environmental certification program for lead battery manufacturing.

OK International works with lead battery companies to improve their operations. We offer technical evaluations of company operations and work with them to adopt measures to minimize exposures to employees and the environment. We then document those improvements and gain recognition for these companies' efforts among consumers and the environmental community. As an incentive, we offer a product certification program to facilities that meet specific environmental performance goals.

Technical Assistance/ Grantmaking

The goal of the technical assistance and grantmaking program is to facilitate exchange of information, monitoring and testing capabilities, environmental regulatory structures, standards, and enforcement capacity to countries with developing environmental programs and institutions. We work in partnership with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government and communities to conduct public health investigations and environmental cleanup projects. These activities are conducted by OK International staff and outside "peer" resources from government, the private sector, and other NGOs.

Environmental Education

The purpose of our environmental education program is to further the knowledge of environmental health, hazardous materials in the workplace and the environment, and waste minimization. Our courses are typically custom designed for the intended audience and cover such topics as air sampling, respiratory protection, and environmental testing methods. We also offer accredited training programs leading to certification in lead and asbestos hazards.

Exchange of Technology and Access to Technology

The purpose of the technology exchange program is to facilitate the exchange of environmental technology to countries with developing environmental programs and limited resources. The following activities are conducted by the our staff:

• Seek donations from companies offering equipment, laboratory services or consulting services to governmental agencies, legislators and NGOs with limited resources to establish environmental programs.

• Seek and distribute funding resources for environmental work abroad by working as liaison to foreign environmental NGOs and U.S. based companies and funders.

Dissemination of Information

The dissemination of information regarding innovative environmental legislation, enforcement mechanisms and new research on hazardous materials is intended to improve access to information to end users in government, NGOs and the private sector. By facilitating the transfer of this information, OK International also generates additional interest in our core program offerings.

For further information contact us via email at info@okinternational.org, via telephone at (415) 221-8900, or at the following address:

Mr. Perry Gottesfeld
OK International
4444 Geary Boulevard, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94118 USA

Board of Directors

• Milind Borkar, Board Treasurer

• David Eherts, Director

• Rachel Golden, Director

• Perry Gottesfeld, President

• Rita Pandey, Director

• Robert Piccioni, Director

• Richard Rinehart, Director

• Don Ryan, Director

• Lyuba Zarsky, Director

List of Volunteers

We would like to thank the many volunteers that have contributed their time and valuable services to help us further our goals:

• Charles Weinstein, Barry White
  Mark Foley Hoag LLP (USA), Boston, MA

• David Bowen, Web Master
  Vancouver, Canada

• Kathryn Dowling
  Iniciativa EQUIPS: Equidad, Intervención y Protección para la Salud

• Thomas W. Dyer II, Video Production and Editing
  New York, N.Y.

• Le Thi Kim Dzung
  Vision & Associates, Hanoi, Vietnam

• Harold H. Fox
  Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Washington, DC

• Robert Lieckfield, Jr., CIH
  Bureau Veritas, Novi, MI

• Zhang Lijun
  Jun He Law Offices, Beijing, China

• Mark Nicas
  U.C. Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

• David Roll
  Lex Mundi Foundation, Washington, D.C.

• Jim Saunders
  Pricing Solutions, Toronto, Canada

• Darani Vachanavuttivong
  Tilleke & Gibbins International LTD., Bangkok, Thailand

• Vivek Vashi
  Amarchand Mangaldas, Mumbai, India

• Pam Weaver
  Galson Laboratories, East Syracuse, NY

• Anthony Wodarck
  Wodarck Designs

OK International in the Press

• Plans to Distribute Next Billion Computers by 2015 Creates Lead Pollution Risk (J. Cleaner Prod., Vol. 17, Issue 18, December 2009)

• Perry Gottesfeld from OK International is featured in an interview (National Public Radio's Living on Earth, February 20, 2009)

• Lead for car batteries poisons an African town (The Associated Press, January 3, 2009)

• Peru's Doe Run Subsidiary Loses Environmental Certification (The Associated Press, April 10, 2008)

• Doe Run Smelter in La Oroya, Peru, Loses Environmental Certification (Press Release, April 9, 2008) 

• Water Mist Saves Lives at Stone Crushing Mills (Press Release, April 8, 2008)

• BEST Standard Offers Solution to Lead Battery Pollution (Video link to CNN, January 30, 2008)

• Now Green Certificates for Lead Battery Makers (The Hindu, January 17, 2008)

• Eco-label for Battery Manufacturers (Mail Today, January 15, 2008)

• Automotive Leaders Adopt Environmental Certification for Lead Battery Manufacturing (Press Release, January 10, 2008)

• Disposing of Defective Toys (The Washington Post, August 13, 2007)

• Poison Me Elmo (The Washington Post, August 13, 2007)

• Unintended Consequences of International Philanthropy (Alliance, Vol. 12, Number 1, March 2007)

• Of electronic revolution and sustainability (Down to Earth, Vol. 15, Number 8, September 2006)

• 15 years after Bophal (Seattle Post Intelligencer, December 9, 1999)

The car battery clip art is used with the permission of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.