EVOLUTIONOFANENVIRONMENTALAUDITPROGRAMJ.H.MadayT.L.KuusinenOctober1991PresentedattheEnvironmentalAuditingConferenceOctober22-23,1991Seattle,WashingtonWorksupportedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEnergyunderContractDE-ACO6-76RLO1830PacificNorthwestLaboratoryRichland,Washington99352DISCLAIMERThisreportwaspreparedasanaccountofworksponsoredbyanagencyoftheUnitedStates。Government.NeithertheUnitedStatesGovernmentnoranyagencythereof,noranyoftheiremployees,makesanywarranty,expressorimplied,orassumesanylegalliabilityorresponsibilityfortheaccuracy,completeness,orusefulnessofanyinformation,apparatus,product,orprocessdisclosed,orrepresentsthatitsusewouldnotinfringeprivatelyownedrights.Referencehereintoanyspecificcommercialproduct,process,orservicebytradename,trademark,manufacturer,orotherwisedoesnotnecessarilyconstituteorimplyitsendorsement,recommendation,orfavoringbytheUnitedStatesGovernmentoranyagencythereof.TheviewsandopinionsofauthorsexpressedhereindonotnecessarilystateorreflectthoseoftheUnitedStatesGovernmentoranyagencythereof.EvolutionofanEnvironmentalAuditProgramJosephH.Maday,Jr.(ASQC-CQA)TechnicalGroupLeader-QualityVerificationDepartmentandTapioKuusinenSeniorResearchScientistEnvironmentalPolicyandComplianceGroupPacificNorthwestLaboratoryRichland,Washington99352ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThisdocumentwaspreparedunderthedirectionoftheU.S.EnvironmentProtectionAgency’s(EPA)SmallBusinessDivision.Therewerenumerousreviewersfromgovernmentandprivateorganizations.Additionally,thefollowingprovidedimportantadviceand/orreferencematerials:*SmallBusinessOmbudsman,MaineDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection*TennesseeSmallBusinessAssistanceProgram*NewJerseyDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection*MassachusettsOfficeofTechnicalAssistanceforToxicsUseReduction(OTA)*IowaWasteReductionCenter,UniversityofNorthernIowa*FloridaSmallBusinessAssistanceProgramTheproductsandservicesincludedinthisdocumentwerecontributedforreviewbycommercialandgovernmentsources.Theprojectteamisthankfulfortheirtimelycooperation.ABSTRACTInternationalandnationalstandards,andinsomecasescorporatepoliciesrequirethatplannedandscheduledauditsbeperformedtoverifyallaspectsofenvironmentalcomplianceandtodetermineeffectiveimplementationoftheenvironmentalmanagementprogram.AnexampleofthiscanbefoundinthedefinitionofauditingasprovidedbyU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)PolicyStatementonEnvironmentalAuditing.Itdefinesenvironmentalauditingasfollows:"Environmentalauditingisasystematic,documented,periodicandobjectivereviewbyregulatedentitiesoffacilityoperationsandpracticesrelatedtomeetingenvironmentalrequirements.Auditscanbedesignedtoaccomplishanyorallofthefollowing:verifycompliancewithenvironmentalrequirements,evaluatetheeffectivenessofenvironmentalmanagementsystemsalreadyinplace,orassessrisksfromregulatedandunregulatedmaterialsandpractices.Auditingservesasaqualityassurancechecktohelpimprovetheeffectivenessofbasicenvironmentalmanagementbyverifyingthatmanagementpracticesareinplace,functioningandadequate.''Manyspecificationsfurtheremphasizethattheauditbeperformedtowrittenproceduresorchecklists(toprovidelaterdocumentation)bypersonnelwhodonothavedirectresponsibilityforperformingtheactivitiesbeingaudited.Theresultsofsuchauditsaregenerallyrequiredtobedocumented,reportedto,andreviewedby,responsiblemanagement.Follow-upactionwillbetakenwhereindicated.Theresponsibleorganization...
