Environmental Health and Safety Plan

The responsibilities of an entry supervisor for a confined space are:

• Know space hazards including information on the mode of exposure, signs or symptoms and the consequences of exposure
• Verify emergency plans and specified entry conditions such as permits, tests, procedures and equipment before allowing entry
• Terminate entry and cancel permits when entry operations are completed or if a new condition exists
• Verify that rescue services are available and that the means for summoning them are operable
• Take appropriate measures to remove unauthorized entrants
• Ensure that the entry operations remain consistent with the entry permit and that acceptable entry conditions are maintained

When preparing for an employee to enter a confined space, the entry supervisor and crew should pre-plan the entire job focusing on identifying potential hazards and the elimination/control of the hazards. The program coordinator also should be able to provide assistance during the pre-planning process. The pre-planning process must consider at the least the following items:

• Energy hazards and needed Isolation procedures (LO/TO)
• Potential air contaminants, ventilation and air tests needed
• Cleaning requirements and procedures
• Potential ignition sources
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Communication methods
• Fall protection and/or lifeline use
• Emergency rescue

If your company needs help with its pre-planning process for confined spaces, contact one of the environmental, health and safety plan consultants at August Mack Environmental at 800.579.0770.

August Mack Environmental, Inc., a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm, is pleased to the promotion of Bennett Thayer to Office Manager for the Dublin, Ohio office. Since joining August Mack in 2004, Thayer has served as a field scientist, staff scientist and project manager.

With more than eight years of experience, Thayer specializes in local, state and federal environmental compliance; environmental, health and safety (EH&S) servicing and reporting; environmental management program development and implementation; biological assessment and environmental investigations; groundwater monitoring; subsurface investigations; underground storage tank (UST) closure; environmental site assessments; wetland determinations and delineations; remedial system operations and maintenance; work plan design and implementation; asbestos surveys; Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) preparation and implementation; and Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan preparation and implementation. In his new role as an office manager, Thayer will be responsible for managing the office’s daily operations, providing technical oversight for projects and managing the office’s growing staff. According to Bryan Petriko, vice president and principal environmental engineer for August Mack, “During the past six years at August Mack, Ben has shown exemplary strength in leadership, technical knowledge, resource management and client management. These qualities made him an excellent choice for the Office Manager position of our Ohio office. I am confident that our Ohio office will continue to flourish under his leadership.”

Thayer received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science from Otterbein College.

August Mack Environmental, Inc. is a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm specializing in regulatory compliance; environmental due diligence and risk management; site investigation/remediation/closure; and sustainability services to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on the company’s products and services, call 317.916.8000 or visit www.augustmack.com.

As discussed in an earlier post, eCAP^® has a five-step process that one of our environmental compliance specialists utilize to implement eCAP^® at any facility. The second step in this process is compliance review and planning.

During the environmental, health and safety compliance review and planning process, the eCAP^® account team will meet with your management team to review your current compliance status and make plans for the year ahead. We evaluate a wide range of variables, including potential new regulations, the possibility of facility process changes, increased production, capital improvements, reduced waste generation, increased energy efficiency and improved raw materials usage. Additionally, we develop customized audit protocols for routine inspections.

To learn more on how eCAP can help your facility maintain EPA environmental compliance and reduce the cost of environmental compliance programs, click here to read an article written by one of August Mack's technical experts.

• Air
• Wastewater
• Storm Water
• SPCC Plan
• Waste Plan
• Chemical Reporting
• Other Compliance Issues

1. Environmental, Health and Safety Audit
2. Compliance Review and Planning
3. Site Inspections
4. Electronic Record Keeping and Reporting
5. Technical Support

• Air Permitting
• Phase One Environmental Site Assessment and Remediation
• Environmental Health and Safety Plan
• Industrial Hygiene
• Noise Mapping
• And the list goes on.........

Call Tom Anderson at 317.916.3105 with questions.

August Mack was contracted by a corporation to implement eCAP^® at its facility. The benefits to this organization of outsourcing its environmental, health and safety (EH&S) compliance have been two-fold. First, compliance has become a manageable component of daily operations and the corporation has realized tangible and intangible cost savings. The organization estimates that one facility will save $15,000 in outside consulting fees, $10,000 in regulatory training and approximately $30,000 to $60,000 in increased productivity of existing plant personnel. Second, annual financial disclosure estimates of environmental liabilities can be reduced based on increased assurance of compliance, consistent program implementation and fixed outsourcing costs. In total, it is estimated that the company reduced its EH&S costs in excess of $100,000 per facility after eCAP^® was implemented. Additionally, since eCAP is accepted as an approved environmental management system (EMS) for a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the facility was able to receive more than $100,000 fine reduction for implementing eCAP^® at its facility.

The initial audit of the facility prior to the implementation of eCAP^® reviewed all aspects of regulatory compliance and identified deficiencies in the Title V air monitoring program and chemical management system. August Mack personnel developed a program to implement Title V tracking requirements and a chemical management system to facilitate MSDS and chemical usage requirements.

The system was implemented via a web-based management tool and on-site inspection by August Mack experts. This web-based program includes a consistent, reproducible environmental management system that operates throughout the organization and can be monitored by corporate personnel on a real-time basis.

Now, August Mack is 100 percent responsible for the facility's environmental regulatory reporting requirements, improving the accuracy and timeliness of submittal of all plans and reports. As confirmation that eCAP^® has been effective, the facility was recently subject to an inspection from the environmental regulatory agency and no findings or Notice of Violations (NOV’s) were issued.

August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.

August Mack was retained by a client to complete a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) plan for the Ohio plant. The purpose of this project was to ensure the facility’s compliance with the SPCC requirements codified in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 112 (40 CFR 112). The scope of work for this project included compiling pertinent operational information for the site, conducting a site inspection/assessment of the facility and preparing the SPCC plan for the site.

The facility has sufficient above ground petroleum storage capacity to trigger SPCC requirements (total above ground storage greater than 1,320 gallons). August Mack requested information such as facility layout diagrams, secondary containment descriptions and current spill response procedures. The facility was visually inspected by August Mack staff to confirm tank capacities, secondary containment capacities and tank locations. A site plan was developed denoting tanks, piping, secondary containment and spill kits. 

A SPCC plan was prepared for the site that specified the current conditions at the facility, and presented the activities and implementation schedules for minimizing the potential for spills of petroleum products. More specifically, the plan identified key personnel responsible for implementing the SPCC plan, discussed previous spills, predicted the direction, rate of flow and total quantity of petroleum discharged for a possible spill, reviewed containment structures and storage vessels, identified spill response/notification procedures and provided a Professional Engineer’s review and certification. The SPCC plan was completed incorporating the latest adopted 40 CFR 112 rules.

Recognizing the ever-increasing importance of sustainability and "green" initiatives in business today, August Mack is leading the way in developing and implementing successful sustainability programs for a number of clients in various industries. Additionally, we have taken a look at our own business model and implemented a sustainability plan aimed at further reducing our own impact on the world. As a testament to our sustainability efforts, we have successfully reduced our carbon footprint every year for the last five years as well as received the first Gold LEED Certification for Commercial Interiors from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in Indianapolis.

Utilizing more than 20 years of environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting experience coupled with our innovative approach to projects, we have developed an unique four-step process aimed at integrating sustainability in an organization, including our own. The first step in our approach, the Sustainability Baseline Assessment, is a one-time assessment that is necessary to quantify key sustainability parameters which will help establish areas where sustainability efforts should be focused in the future as well as determine the metrics to evaluate future performance. After the completion of a Sustainability Baseline Assessment, we recommend the development of a Sustainability Plan that explicitly presents the company’s commitment to sustainable development and outlines the various efforts the  company will make in the coming year to integrate sustainability into their process. The plan should be written to reflect the company’s vision and values, and incorporate all of the efforts being implemented to ultimately achieve sustainability. The third step of this process is the actual Implementation and Tracking of the Sustainability Plan. The fourth step is a Sustainability Annual Report that can be used as part of the company’s stakeholder communication and illustrates the company’s past, present and future efforts in regards to sustainability.

Our Sustainability services include:

• Sustainability Baseline Assessment
• Sustainability Reports
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
• Energy Audits
• Waste Mapping
• Logistics Analysis
• Green Building Assessments
• Facility Air Balances
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Surveys

August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.

Completing a simple Phase II investigation to a complicated Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Remedial Investigations and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) should be a matter of expertly-designed investigation and analysis, not guesswork. At August Mack, we pride ourselves on designing innovative investigation strategies aimed at not only achieving an effective environmental solution, but also achieving the the goals and objectives of our clients.

With our experience and expertise in environmental risk assessment and closure, August Mack helps clients with comprehensive site investigation services, which include conducting environmental sampling and testing as well as creating a closure plan for either ridding or containing problems that may be identified during the site analysis process. Should our investigation identify the need for remediation measures, we can provide clients with such closure services as soil and groundwater treatment, underground storage tank (UST) removal, facility decontamination and hazardous contaminant disposal that are conducted in a timely and cost-effective manner and with strict adherence to applicable state and federal regulations.

August Mack’s team of technical experts also stays abreast of the latest regulatory guidelines and shares our knowledge with clients to ensure human and ecological risks are fully considered throughout the process.

Our Site Closure/Remediation services include:

• Remediation System Design
• Litigation Support
• RCRA Closure
• Site Evaluation
• Facility Decontamination
• Risk Assessment
• Subsurface Investigation
• Waste Characterization/Disposal
• RCRA Corrective Action Measures Study
• AST & UST Installation
• Program Implementation
• Remediation System Operation and Maintenance
• Groundwater Modeling
• Well Abandonment
• Brownfields
• Remedial System Installation
• Soil Excavation/Disposal

August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.

August Mack's technical expert and Missouri Office Manager, Eric Emmett is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Mid-American 2010 Safety, Health and Environmental Conference on Thursday, May 6 at the Tan-Tar-a Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri. Click here to learn more about the conference and register to attend.

August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.
 

August Mack Environmental, Inc., a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm, is pleased to announce it has received an Environmental Services Schedule 899 Contract from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

The five-year contract enables August Mack to be listed on an approved GSA Schedule to provide federal government customers with environmental planning and documentation, environmental training as well as remediation and reclamation services. The contract number GS-10F-0074W may potentially be renewed for up to three renewal periods of five-years each, for a total contract extension of up to 15 years.

Federal agencies interested in learning more about August Mack’s GSA-related offerings can contact Jason Schnellenberger directly at 317.916.3104.

August Mack Environmental, Inc. is a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm specializing in regulatory compliance; environmental due diligence and risk management; site investigation/remediation/closure; and sustainability services to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on the company’s products and services, call 317.916.8000 or visit www.augustmack.com.