​The purpose of these guidelines is to identify the main factors to be considered when preparing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study for a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. Each project should be carefully assessed to identify the key issues and an EIA should be prepared to assess them, using these guidelines for assistance. The EIA report should be submitted through the Competent Administrative Authority to the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). The Competent Administrative Authority for pharmaceutical industries is normally the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, depending on the size of the industry. The EIA system uses a list approach that screens projects into three categories based on different levels of EIA required according to severity of possible environmental impacts. The three categories are white (A), gray (B) and black (C). ​​