16 Quick Items for a Timesaving Environmental Walkthrough Inspection
By : Admin -
There’s something really nerve-racking about not having time to regularly verify whether your site actually complies with environmental regulations – especially when it’s your job. EHS managers have lots of duties, including conducting spot environmental walkthrough inspections. Nonetheless, balancing priorities with limited time available can pose a challenge.
We have all been there . . . You are inundated with a project or environmental compliance reporting. Suddenly, you look up and it’s been quite some time since you had a chance to just walk through your facility to assess environmental conditions. Of course, it never fails. This moment of clarity also happens to coincide with agency inspectors showing up on your site or a visit from corporate for an audit.
You feel horrified because you did not have the chance to open the shudders and clean out the cobwebs before the agency or corporate visit. Moreover, we all know noncompliance can be costly. So, if you’ve ever fallen victim to this circumstance, keep reading to uncover an example 16-item environmental walkthrough inspection to help prevent environmental compliance exposure and potential embarrassment.
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Environmental Walkthrough Inspection – Importance and Limitations
Environmental walkthrough inspections give the chance for an abbreviated look at potential violations on a more frequent basis than agency inspections or comprehensive audits. You can perform them on the entire facility or in specific areas, as needed.
Due to their simplicity and flexibility, environmental walkthrough inspections give you an uncomplicated way to confirm your site consistently meets its high-level environmental obligations. In addition, the ease of these assessments makes them extremely good candidates for EHS committee activities.
Nonetheless, environmental walkthrough inspections do possess limitations. You are not looking at every environmental requirement through these assessments. As such, the chance for non-compliance may still exist. You should utilize environmental walkthrough inspections as a starting point to improve site conditions and adopt a more robust environmental auditing program for a comprehensive evaluation of compliance.
Additionally, the effectiveness of an environmental walkthrough inspection decreases with its frequency. Remember, the evaluations should help to verify consistent high-level compliance and give you (and your plant manager) some peace of mind. If the checks only happen once in a blue moon, these goals may remain unattained.
Because different sites have varying levels of reliable monitoring systems for environmental compliance, the frequency of environmental walkthrough inspections will differ from facility to facility. However, a walkthrough performed at least once per month should be the target as a general rule of thumb.
Environmental Walkthrough Inspection – Air
When conducting a walkthrough, questions like the following can help evaluate air quality management on site:
1. Are there any visual emissions potentially exceeding permit limits?
2. Are there fugitive emissions that potentially exceed limits?
3. Do required air pollution control systems (stationary sources) appear to be
malfunctioning for any operating equipment?
4. Do required emission control systems (mobile sources) appear to be
malfunctioning on any operating equipment?
5. Are any abnormal odors observed?
Environmental Walkthrough Inspection – Water
For water quality management, example questions for a walkthrough may include the following:
6. Is there evidence of off-site tracking of materials?
7. Are there unpermitted off-site discharges occurring?
8. Is the public water system security inadequate?
9. Are petroleum products stored outside proper containment?
10. Is there evidence of leaking storage tanks or equipment?
11. Do pollution controls appear to be missing, in a state of disrepair, or
malfunctioning?
Environmental Walkthrough Inspection – Wastes & Toxics
Last but not least, the walkthrough can assess wastes & toxics management through the use of questions such as:
12. Is on-site hazardous waste (if any) being stored outside designated areas or in
amounts greater than allowed (VSQG up to 1,000 kg; SQG up to 6,000 kg)?
13. Is industrial solid waste being disposed outside of designated areas?
14. Are universal wastes stored outside proper containment or without proper
labeling?
15. Are hazardous substances being stored in areas outside those designated on
the facility’s Tier II Report?
16. Is trash overflow present at on-site dumpsters or are lids left open when not in
use?
Environmental Walkthrough Inspection – General Use & Bonuses
The example 16 quick items presented above can easily be answered with a “Yes” or “No”. A “No” response would indicate the management around the given item is good. However, a “Yes” response suggests some sort of intervention is needed to ensure compliance. Remember, an environmental walkthrough inspection holds little value if identified potential deficiencies go unaddressed.
As stated previously, an environmental walkthrough inspection is meant to assess high-level conditions, primarily the physical conditions within a facility. However, documentation and recordkeeping are integral parts of overall environmental compliance. As such, the following example questions addressing required paperwork can be included as bonuses to the walkthrough process:
- Have any required compliance inspections, monitoring, testing, or reporting been missed?
- Are there any identified permit deviations that have not been reported as required?
- Have any new hazardous substances failed to be included in the site’s inventory?
Additionally, environmental walkthrough inspections present an opportunity to follow-up on deficient items identified in prior walkthroughs. By incorporating this follow-up into walkthroughs, a facility can improve overall accountability in its corrective action process.
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Final Thoughts
Completing a simple 16-item environmental walkthrough inspection on a regular basis can help facilities maintain environmental compliance and reduce risk. In addition, these evaluations may assist in making your site’s environmental management soar to the next level when implemented properly.
Prorsa Consulting can assist with your environmental, health, & safety compliance, training, data analysis, and management system needs. Check out the Services page for more information. Contact us via contact@prorsaconsulting.com with any questions about our services.
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