Newsletters on Hot Chemical Topics

On September 21, 1999, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corp. shook up the industrial world with their announcements that they are requiring ISO 14001 certification of their suppliers as early as two years from now. We all knew it was coming, but so soon? As environmental concerns continue to make headlines all over the world, more and more major companies are taking charge of their ecological responsibilities and asking their supplier base to do the same. One effective way to accomplish this is to establish an environmental management system (EMS) that meets the requirements of the International Standard ISO 14001.

ISO 14001 is the first in a series of standards and guidelines dealing with the environment. ISO 14001 is officially titled ISO 14001:1996 Environmental management systems - Specification with guidance for use. This is the standard against which companies will be audited in order to achieve ISO 14001 registration. The standard was released in the fall of 1996, and to date, ISO 14001 registration has been achieved by approximately 12,000 facilities worldwide. (source: www.iso14000.com)

So where does your organization fit into all of this? If you currently supply products or services to Ford and/or GM, and you wish to continue to do so, you will need to start thinking about developing an EMS in the near future. Even if you don't supply to these major companies, chances are that one or more of your major customers will soon be issuing a similar mandate.

There are many benefits to implementing an environmental management system, aside from maintaining current contracts and procuring new ones. Additional potential benefits include reduction of incidents that result in liability, good public relations, conservation of input materials and energy, and simplified attainment of permits and authorizations, just to list a few.

Chemical Management Associates, Inc. has experience in the development and implementation of environmental management systems. For more information on ISO 14001, check out our web site at www.CHEManagement.com or e-mail us at pmyhrum@chemanagement.com.

Question of the Month

Where can I go to get answers to my specific environmental and chemical management questions?

Right here! Each month, this newsletter will feature a new question and answer, relating to the environment, ISO 14001, chemical management or health and safety issues.

Do you have a question?

If you have a question you would like to see answered, send an e-mail to pmyhrum@chemanagement.com with the subject NEWSLETTER QUESTION. Alternately, you may fax your question to CMA, Inc. at (734)455-7037. Your question may be featured in a future column!

Editors Note: We cannot guarantee that your question will be published, and we reserve the right to edit questions for clarification purposes, or to fit the space available. If you have a question that you would like to discuss, please call CMA, Inc. at (734) 455-7037.

Service of the Month

ISO 14000 Gap Analysis

An ISO 14001 Gap Analysis is a tool that can be used to systematically determine how closely your current environmental management system fulfills the requirements of the ISO 14001 Standard. You may not have an organized environmental management system in place, but chances are you have some environmentally related activities within your organization. The Gap Analysis will look at these activities, along with relevant documentation and records, and compare them to the requirements of the standard in order to let you know where your "gaps" are. These will be the items that need to be put in place in order to meet the requirements of ISO 14001, and achieve registration.

A Gap Analysis is performed using an audit protocol that covers the requirements of the ISO 14001 Standard. The Analysis can be performed internally by your own personnel, but for many organizations it may be more effective to use an objective third party, who is also familiar with the ISO 14001 requirements.

Chemical Management Associates, Inc. has performed ISO 14001 Gap Analyses for several industrial clients. To find out more, or to schedule a preliminary meeting, please contact Pete Myhrum, CMA President, at (734) 455-7037.

Regulatory Corner  

Canada

A U.S. EPA proposal to lower the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting thresholds for lead and lead compounds is currently in the public comment phase. The August 3rd proposed rule (64 FR 42221) had an initial comment deadline of Sept. 17th which has been extended until Dec.16th, 1999. This rule would require any facility that manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses lead in amounts equal to or greater than 10 pounds per year to report it under the Toxics Release Inventory. The proposed rule and economic analysis are available at http://www.epa.gov/tri/.

U.S.

In March 1999, a multi-stakeholder work group released its recommendations to Environment Canada for additions to the list of substances that must be reported under the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). Following review of the recommendations, Environment Canada is now adding 73 new substances to the NPRI under the current reporting requirements for 1999. This will bring the total up to 246 reportable substances. For a list of the additions, visit the NPRI web site at http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/npri/, or contact CMA, Inc. at (519) 966-9855. Additional changes to the requirements are proposed for the 2000 reporting year.

Spotlight Company

If you are a current client of CMA, Inc. or are interested in taking advantage of our professional and cost-effective services, your organization could be featured in this column in an upcoming issue of the newsletter.

If you are a leader in your industry, or have gone above and beyond the legal requirements to improve your chemical or environmental management activities, let others know! This is a great way to highlight your accomplishments.

If you would like your organization to be featured in this newsletter, please contact us at pmyhrum@chemanagement.com.