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ARS Environmental Management System (EMS) Introductory Awareness Training. Course Objective To provide EMS Annual Awareness Training. Introduce you to the EMS tools available How Much Time Does the Course take to complete?
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ARS Environmental Management System (EMS)Introductory Awareness Training
Course Objective To provide EMS Annual Awareness Training. Introduce you to the EMS tools available How Much Time Does the Course take to complete? We anticipate that this training should not take you more than 30 minutes to complete. Receiving Documentation for training completion. Our Safety, Health, Environmental Management Committee maintains a training record for employees. Print out the questionaire at the end of the presentation and place the completed questionaire with date and signature in the mail box of Robert Campbell. Questions or Comments Please keep in mind that EMS is a continual improvement process and EMS Annual Awareness Training will change as the system evolves. If you have questions or comments about this training please contact Robert Campbell, Charlotte Burton, Kathy Burrup, Scott McNeil, John Rutger
Why an Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) • Executive Order 13148 requires Federal facilities to have an EMS in place no later than December 2005. • Executive Order 13423 (2007) mandates specific reductions in energy resource use by 2015. • ARS policy requires all ARS facilities to have an EMS in place that conforms to the ISO 14001 standard. • ISO 14001 is an internationally recognized best management practice for environmental management. • Implementing an EMS will assist ARS Locations in the environmental stewardship efforts by ensuring continual review and corrective action processes for environmental management.
E.O. 13148 (ISO 14991 EMS) Issued: April 21, 2000 Reasons: • Demonstrate Federal Government environmental leadership • Ensure that Federal agencies adopt lowest life-cycle cost environmental practices • Ensure Federal facilities are responsible members of their communities
Benefits of an EMS • Improve environmental awareness. • Achieve greater consistency in environmental programs. • Support the mission by prioritizing environmental issues and focusing resources on those with the greatest significance. Remember…. Being a good environmental steward is everyone’s business. Performing your job in an environmentally safe and sound manner benefits us all by protecting the health of the surrounding ecosystem, preserving resources for future generations, being good neighbors, minimizing mission impact due to non-compliance issues, and saving money by decreasing wasted resources. As a member of the Surrounding community, you are responsible for performing your job in an environmentally safe and sound manner by knowing how your job impacts the environment, adhering to operating procedures, knowing the potential environmental impacts of departing from these operating procedures, and by knowing the requirements of your job.
Responsibilities As a member of the ARS community, you are responsible for performing your job in an environmentally safe and sound manner. You should: • Understand the commitments of the ARS Environmental Policy • Know how your job impacts the environment • Know and adhere to the procedures of your job • Know the potential environmental impacts of departing from the procedures of your job • Know the environmental requirements of your job
Environmental Management Programs incorporated into EMS including: • Incorporate the provisions into existing goals and records • Provide training to personnel • Incorporate into position descriptions and performance standards • Develop an awards program • Each location will develop a plan • Internal Assessments • Environmental management documents • Monitoring procedures and data • Annual reporting to the EPA
Policy Management Review Planning Implementation and Operation Checking and Corrective Action An ISO 14001 EMS is a set of procedures based on a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and has five Major Components, Policy, Planning, Implementation and Operation, Checking and Corrective Action, and Management Review Plan Act ContinualImprovement Do Check
Environmental Policy The Environmental Policy describes ARS’s approach to environmental management. ARS personnel should understand that the ARS Environmental Policy: • Applies to all • Commits to environmental compliance • Commits to prevention of pollution • Commits to continual improvement • Is available on the NAA Safety Website
Environmental Aspects Environmental aspects are elements of the location’s activities that can potentially interact with the environment. Examples are taken from Chapter 4 of the NAA ARS EMS: Use of hazardous chemicals Paper Consumption Pesticide application
Environmental Impacts Environmental impacts are changes to the environment resulting from an environmental aspect. Examples are: Waste generation Use of natural resources Soil, water quality degradation
Environmental Aspects and Environmental Impacts Environmental aspects and environmental impacts exist in a“Cause and Effect” relationship with each other. Aspect (Cause)Impact (Effect) use of hazardous chemicals Waste generation Paper consumption Resource depletion Soil, water quality degradation Pesticide applications
Significant Environmental Aspects Current significant environmental aspects are: • Emissions • Discharges, spills, leaks, or other releases to soil or water • Energy consumption or conservation • Generation of waste streams • Generation of noise, vibration, odor, dust, heat, light, radiation, and other nuisance activities Significant environmental aspects must be managed through operational procedures and considered when setting environmental objectives and targets.
Objectives and Targets • Full Compliance with regulations • Reduce a hazardous waste stream • Reduce consumption of energy (electricity) • Green Purchase Training • There are Agency targets and location targets • Many locations have met targets and never quantified /credited the success
Your Participation All personnel will have roles and responsibilities at the location for EMS. Your level of participation will vary according to the work you perform. At a minimum, you are responsible for knowing: • The commitments of the ARS Environmental Policy • How your job impacts the environment • The procedures/protocols of your job and adhering to them • The potential environmental impacts of departing from the procedures of your job • The legal and other environmental requirements of your job
Minimizing Environmental Impacts An objective of an EMS is to reduce environmental impacts.Below are ways you can support this objective: • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Reduce your use of resources such as water. Reuse resources such as office supplies Recycle all batteries, paper, electronics, toner cartridges, metal scraps, metal cans, glass and plastic containers, and fluorescent light bulbs. • Purchasing Requirements – Government purchasing agents, including credit card holders, are required to follow the Affirmative (Green) Procurement Plan.
Minimizing Environmental Impacts - Continued • Spill Reporting – Personnel who suspect a spill has occurred should report it through the location emergency procedures. Reporting petroleum product and hazardous material spills in a timely manner can minimize environmental damage. • Carpool – ARS has a Carpool Program in place to support a regional goal of decreasing vehicle emissions.
Benefits of Minimizing Environmental Impacts Minimizing environmental impacts help: • Protect human health and the surrounding ecosystem • Promote a good relationship with surrounding community and emergency services • Save money through resource conservation • Reduces and eliminates lab storage issues
TOP TEN POLLUTION PREVENTION TECHNIQUES 1. good housekeeping and maintenance practices 2. spill prevention and preparedness 3. inventory management 4. prudent purchasing 5. waste exchange programs
TOP TEN POLLUTION PREVENTION TECHNIQUES 6. alternate cleaning processes 7. reuse/recycle process wastes 8. process modifications 9. changes in equipment/technology 10. environmentally preferable purchasing
Housekeeping and Maintenance • reducing spills, overflows, leaks, ruined samples, and accidents prevents pollution-- while also reducing materials costs and stress! • lab clutter contributes to knocked-over containers while also impairing efficiency and morale
Housekeeping and Maintenance • use secondary containment where appropriate • inspect and maintain equipment routinely • replace seals and gaskets on a regular basis • use tight-fitting lids and bungs to prevent evaporation
Spill prevention and preparedness Spills generate waste! By preventing spills, you can prevent hazardous releases and avoid associated disposal costs
To avoid accidental spills... • train employees in proper use of chemicals, apparatus, instruments, and tools • use pipetting aids, spigots and pumps instead of pouring liquids • store materials securely and away from traffic
Inventory Management Proper management ensures that your inventory is an asset, not a pollution prevention liability.
Inventory Management Tips • set up an inventory tracking system • label all containers with contents and date to avoid costly and hazardous “unknowns” • store material carefully to prevent spills and leaks • rotate inventory so older material is used first
Prudent Purchasing • buy only the amount of chemicals that you will use within a reasonable time period • buy durable apparatus and equipment that can be repaired and maintained • coordinate or centralize purchasing to avoid unnecessary purchases
Waste exchange programs • Waste exchange is a “matchmaking” process based on the premise that one party’s waste may be a usable material for another party • The goal of waste exchange is to minimize waste disposal expenses while maximizing the value of reusable byproducts
Recycling • Common examples of recycling at our facility are recycling paper, paper bags, catalogs, cardboard, batteries, aluminum cans, IT supplies and equipment, and surplus laboratory equipment.
Materials Substitution • In some cases, labs are unable to make substitutions due to required protocols • Opportunities exist beyond chemical substitution such as alternatives to mercury thermometers, videos or demonstrations in some instructional labs, etc. • Ask your vendors to keep you informed when new, less-hazardous products become available
Summary All personnel should understand the commitments of the ARS Environmental Policy and are responsible for performing work in an environmentally safe and sound manner. Remember that you are responsible for knowing: • How your job impacts the environment • The procedures of your job and adhering to them • The potential environmental impacts of departing from the procedures of your job • The legal and other environmental requirements of your job
CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU !!! After you have completed the questionaire you will have successfully completed the EMS Introductory Awareness Training. Record of your participation is recorded with the Safety, Health and Environmental Management Committee. Your feedback allows us to continually improve the EMS. For more information or to actively participate in EMS implementation, please contact: Robert Campbell Kathy Burrup Charlotte Burton Scott McNeil John Rutger
To print a copy of this slide exit the presentation.Go to Slide 34 and bring down the File menu.BE SURE THAT YOU SELECT CURRENT SLIDE. The Safety, Health, Environmental Management Committee maintains a record of this EMS Introductory Awareness Training. Sign and Date the Document and place the completed questionaire in the mail box of Robert Campbell • Print Your Name ______________________________ • Sign Your Name_______________________________ • Date You completed this training _________________ • 1. Name an Environmental Aspect preferably different than the ones mentioned in the presentation that you are aware of in your work setting. • 2. Name an Enviromental Impact that is associated with the aspect that you came up with in question 1. • 3. What do you think could be done to minimize the impact to the environment? • 4. Name a pollution prevention technique.