All About ISO

The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard specifies that an organization shall establish and maintain procedures to identify potential for and respond to accidents and emergency situations, and for preventing and mitigating the environmental impacts that may be associated with them.  With recent natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods in the news, it seems that preparing for an emergency would be at the top of our priority lists.  In conducting environmental compliance audits at facilities with ISO 14001 certification, I often find deficiencies with emergency preparedness and response including deficiencies associated with preparation, update, training and implementation of Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plans, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Contingency Plans, Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Response Plans. It may be time to review, update and conduct training related to these plans so that your facility is prepared for any emergency.