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EnviroSmart
environmental management systems
One of the major concerns facing all workshop
operators is how to meet the new environmental guidelines.
Most workshop operators believe that it will be costly and
difficult to conform. In fact in most cases the steps required
are simple and the solutions quite reasonable.
By way of a history lesson if you look around the country
at laws governing environmental protection you will find that
each state has its own set of rules. Within each state various
local authorities will have their own interpretation of these
state rules. And if all that is not enough, the rules are
apt to change without notice. Thus a bureaucracy is born.
The good news is that whilst the exact interpretation of the
rules may vary the underlying aim is the same. All waste must
be contained on the property and removed or disposed of by
registered companies or legal means to ensure that there is
no damage to the environment.
Given that this is the intent of all the legislation about
the place there are some simple steps you can take to ensure
that you comply.
As a workshop operator you are required to exercise 'Due diligence'.
This means that legally you are expected to identify those
areas that are potentially troublesome and PLAN ways of dealing
with spills or 'foreseeable' accidents.
In environmental terms a gas is more dangerous than a liquid,
which is more dangerous than a solid material because gases
and liquids can escape into the environment very quickly.
Commonly the workshop may store waste oil, have wash down
areas, parts washers or store batteries. All of these areas
could potentially release liquid wastes into the environment.
It is expected that you as the operator will take reasonable
steps to prevent this from happening.
Having identified all of the potential 'danger' spots in the
workshop the operator then needs to draw a simple site plan.
On that Plan you need to mark potential trouble spots where
spills might occur.
For example, if you have a 200 litre waste oil drum, specially
designed bunded pallets are available to stand the drum in.
Not only does this save a lot of cleaning around the drum
but it also prevents the waste escaping if there is a spill.
Wash down bays may need to be surrounded by a low wall and
drainage installed to ensure that waste water can't escape.
Drainage can be expensive so a small bilge pump to pump the
waste into a storage tank will do the trick.
Basically the more liquid you use or store the greater the
area that will need to be bunded. You will need to consider
small day to day spills and the 'total disaster' spill. If
a seal were to rupture on a 20 000 litre tank and your bunding
was designed to only hold in 5000 litres then don't be surprised
if you are hit with a massive bill for the clean up followed
by a hefty fine. The argument here is that it is reasonable
to expect that a seal may break or a tap left on and that
you should have allowed for that type of accident.
Because it is very expensive to bund large areas it is often
easier and less costly to use portable Spill Kits. These kits
are designed to mop up the every day to medium sized spill
with a minimum of fuss. If correctly designed the kit can
become your regular floor cleaning maintenance system and
spill control all in one. This can be very handy as the staff
do not need to be specially trained to use the spill products
in the kit if they also use them every day.
Which brings us to the final part of making your workshop
environmentally safe, TRAINING!!! It is vital that you and
your staff know what to do and how to use spill control equipment
for day to day and emergency situations. In fact if staff
are not trained correctly the operator and management can
be fined should an accident causing environmental damage occur.
Training in most cases is very simple particularly if most
of the spill products are used for daily spills as well. Good
spill kits will contain a list of, 'what to do' and 'what
to use'. Copy these instructions and stick a laminated copy
near each spill kit and trouble area so that they can easily
be found in an emergency.
Having completed your plan, bunded the likely trouble spots,
obtained spill control products and trained your staff when
an environmental officer comes calling you should now be in
a position to sit him in your office, pull out your plan of
the workshop and show him the spill control measures you have
taken.
If all this sounds like a lot of work then take heart as help
is at hand as Mr. Stephen Clark from Envirosmart points out:
"You can ring the local inspectors and they are mostly
quite helpful, however, this is a bit like asking the Tax
department to come in and give your books the old once over."
There are a number of reputable companies that can also assist.
Look for a company that is willing to come out and visit your
workshop, sit down with you and draw up a plan, tailor the
spill kits to meet your requirements, train your staff and
offers to come back and service the kits regularly. All of
that usually costs about $100 per year for a small workshop
and you only get what you need!
Planning and Training saves money and worry and in an emergency
should also save the environment.
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