Category: Inside Business

Jan 24, 2012

Many people may be familiar with the nursery rhyme, “Rain rain, go away; come again some other day.” As an environmental professional, I propose a new rhyme: “Rain rain, it comes today; pollutants with it flows away.”

While the rhymes themselves may be lost in translation to other languages, the meaning of each is universal: rain ruins a child’s perfect day to play, and rain, as it falls to the ground and flows away, can carry with it debris, chemicals, sediment or other pollutants that can negatively impact the environment. But this does not have to be. There are relatively simple and many times inexpensive best management practices that can minimize or eliminate environmental risks associated with runoff from rainfall and snowmelt.

A few of the more simplistic “non-structural” BMPs are described below.

1. Good housekeeping. Keeping a clean shop—inside and out—is the simplest way to protect against the pollution of rainwater and snowmelt runoff.
2. Exposure minimization. Keeping containers closed, stored inside covered secondary containment, or indoors are just a few of the many ways to minimize potential exposures of pollutants to the environment.
3. Preventative maintenance. Maintaining all equipment as per manufacturer’s recommendations is not only prudent to maximize the life of the equipment, but can also protect the environment.
4. Spill prevention and response procedures. The development of sound procedures for the prevention of spills and what to do when they occur will assist with prompt and safe response that can keep small spills from becoming large spills.
5. Routine facility inspections. Daily, weekly, and/or monthly inspections will help to ensure that all equipment and controls are operating as designed and facilitate early detection and correction of potential problems.
6. Employee training. This may be the most important BMP of them all. Employee education is crucial to “buy-in” and the success of any program. You may even find that as your employees become more engaged, that they will begin to offer up ideas for improvement.

It is worthwhile to note that the six best practices described above would require zero capital dollars to implement and can significantly reduce environmental risks. Additionally, these practices are internationally universal as they can—and should be—implemented across a global network of locations.

Source: Michael L. Thayer, CHMM, corporate HSE manager for air and water compliance for National Oilwell Varco.

Status Update

As a result from comments received in response to the December 2, 2008 Proposed Rule, the Agency has decided to develop another proposal for healthcare facility-specific regulations for the management of hazardous pharmaceutical wastes in order to provide a regulatory scheme that addresses the unique issues that hospitals, pharmacies and other healthcare-related facilities face. It is anticipated that the proposal will be available for public comment in Spring 2013.

Background

EPA has proposed to add hazardous pharmaceutical wastes to the Universal Waste Rule in order to provide a system for disposing hazardous pharmaceutical wastes that is protective of public health and the environment. The proposed addition will make it easier for generators to collect and properly dispose of these items as hazardous wastes, resulting in a simpler and more streamlined waste management system.

This proposed rule applies to:

• pharmacies,
• hospitals,
• physicians’ offices,
• dentists’ offices,
• outpatient care centers,
• ambulatory health care services,
• residential care facilities,
• veterinary clinics, and
• other facilities that generate hazardous pharmaceutical wastes.

The rule encourages generators to dispose of non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste as universal waste, thereby removing this unregulated waste from wastewater treatment plants and municipal solid waste landfills. The addition of hazardous pharmaceutical waste to the Universal Waste Rule will facilitate the collection of personal medications from the public at various facilities so that they can be more properly managed.

Currently the federal Universal Waste Rule includes batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, and lamps. Universal wastes are typically generated in a wide variety of settings including industrial settings and households, by many sectors of society, and may be present in significant volumes in non-hazardous waste management systems.

Federal Register Notice | PDF Version (26 pp, 345K, about PDF) – Proposed Rule – December 2, 2008
Federal Register Notice | PDF Version (1 pg, 61K, about PDF) – Extension of the Comment Period – January 30, 2009

Go to the site for more details: http://www.epa.gov/waste/hazard/wastetypes/universal/pharm-rule.htm

Environmental Daily Advisor

Recycling = US Jobs

Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources. Not only is it good business to be green, collecting recyclable materials is just the first step in a series of actions that generate a host of financial, environmental, and societal returns—including job creation.

More than 56,000 recycling and reuse establishments in the United States employ approximately 1.1 million people, and generate an annual payroll of $37 billion, and gross $236 billion in annual revenues. The number of workers in the recycling industry is comparable to the automobile and truck manufacturing industry and is significantly larger than mining and waste management and disposal industries. In addition, wages for workers in the recycling industry are notably higher than the national average for all industries.

Recycling Saves You Money

Recycling is not only green, but makes good financial sense for businesses and consumers. Take the example of recycling soda cans–creating aluminum cans from recycled aluminum is far less energy-intensive, and less costly, than mining the raw materials and manufacturing new cans from scratch.

Because recycling is clearly good for human health, the nation’s economy, and the environment, many people wonder why the federal government does not simply mandate recycling. The primary reason is that recycling is a local issue—the success and viability of recycling depends on a community’s resources and structure. A community must consider the costs of a recycling program, as well as the availability of markets for its recovered materials. In some areas, not enough resources exist to make recycling an economically feasible option. State governments can assess local conditions and set appropriate recycling mandates. For information about recycling in your state, contact your EPA regional office, or your state agency.

Other Benefits

According to EPA, here are the benefits of recycling:

• Jobs. Recycling protects and expands U.S. manufacturing jobs and increases U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace.
• Saves landfill space. Reduces the need for landfilling and incineration.
• Saves energy and prevents pollution caused by the extraction and processing of virgin materials and the manufacture of products using virgin materials.
• Decreases emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change.
• It’s kind to trees. Conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals.
• Your grandchildren. Helps sustain the environment for future generations.

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