Sample Environmental, Health and Safety Project at EBI Consulting—Creating Value for Your Business
EBI Consulting offers a full range of services that provide complete solutions for your environmental, health and safety (EHS) needs. Hiring EBI Consulting to handle your environmental, health and safety needs removes your worries with regard to employee turnover, alleviates your needs for an EHS professional at each facility, reduces your risks of potential environmental fines, and allows you to concentrate on generating revenue. A sampling of projects in which EBI Consulting has created value for our clients is below:
EHS Management System Development
EBI Consulting completed a comprehensive facility EHS program evaluation for a growing 50-person biotechnology firm. Following the evaluation, EBI Consulting experts prepared and implemented a detailed action plan. The program included a comprehensive environmental, health and safety management systemthat consisted of policies, procedures, and related training. The new environmental, health and safety programwill be implemented into the existing research facility and also into a new production facility employing 200 people. Procedures detailed in the program included emergency response, biosafety, chemical hygiene, confined space, hazard communication, and radiation safety.
Environmental Air Permit
EBI Consulting handled the environmental air permitting requirements of a significant expansion at a pressure sensitive tape manufacturer, which had been classified as a major source of volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants. EBI Consulting first assisted in providing additional engineering analysis of the existing facility, thus improving the accounting of existing air emissions. As a result of the effort, the facility could be reclassified as a minor source of emissions, greatly increasing the simplicity of the environmental air permitting process. The company also obtained interim approval from the state to begin construction within one month of initial discussions.
Environmental, Health and Safety Services for Biotech Relocation
EBI Consulting assisted a growing biotechnology firm that was planning a relocation of their office and laboratory facilities to a new facility. Experts from EBI Consulting provided a comprehensive range of environmental, health and safety services to assist in the move operation, including:
With the assistance of EBI Consulting, the move was completed on time and in compliance with all city requirements.
Environmental Management System Development
EBI Consulting prepared a comprehensive environmental management program for the United States operations of an international integrated pulp, paper, and wood products manufacturer. The program included the incorporation of:
The program also included the development of specific internal monitoring parameters for performance-based standards.
Hospital Mercury Wastewater Pollution
EBI Consulting was hired by a large, modern hospital that provides many health services, including 24-hour emergency care, primary care, specialty care, surgery, obstetrics, and mental health programs to provide mercury wastewater pollution control consulting services. When attempting to control mercury wastewater pollution in large medical centers and hospitals, one must take into account the numerous potential sources of mercury pollution. Many hospitals use cleaning, disinfecting agents, laboratory reagents, slide staining agents, and pH neutralization chemicals that contain mercury which can be discharged to a facility’s special waste piping system. The mercury from these agents and chemicals can build up in special waste piping, sink drains, traps, and tanks, and take months or years to seep out into the wastestream. Over time, these sources can result in discharge levels that exceed those of allowable limits as defined by publicly owned treatment works.
In order to solve the mercury wastewater pollution issues at the hospital, EBI Consulting first inventoried internal sources of mercury, and recommended source control methods for the hospital to implement. When utilized properly, these methods reduce the contamination of wastewater with mercury at the source, prior to discharge.
While the initial inventory and source control methods immediately helped to control the amount of mercury entering the wastewater system, EBI Consulting also helped mitigate potential long-term mercury build-up by managing the decontamination of the special waste piping system and providing recommendations on continual treatment. As a result of these changes, the level of mercury in the hospital’s wastewater has been lowered from elevated levels to allowable limits. As EBI Consulting has consistently done for clients in the health care, life science, and educational fields, our experts have succeeded in creating value by helping the hospital avoid costly potential fines for elevated levels of mercury in their wastewater.
Regulatory Compliance Plans
EBI Consulting was contracted by two separate manufacturing companies, whose primary processes involved metal working and plating, to assess their respective regulatory compliance statuses. At the companies' requests, EBI Consulting's regulatory compliance experts conducted brief screening audits that focused on several key environmental, health and safety issues. For one company, EBI Consulting was required to complete the work expeditiously in response to a notice of noncompliance from the Department of Environmental Protection. The second company initiated the work to avoid foreseen problems with their landlord. During the audits, EBI Consulting determined that both companies were deficient in numerous areas, including hazard communicationand spill prevention planning, employee training, hazardous waste handling, OSHA training and planning (e.g. confined space entry and hearing protection), and hazardous materials notification. Subsequently, both companies contracted EBI Consulting to complete:
EBI Consulting was also contracted to develop overall hazardous material and waste handling procedures, and to provide customized onsiteHazCom, SPCC, Emergency Action, DOT, PPE, LOTO, and confined space awareness training courses.
EBI Consulting environmental, health and safety experts focused on implementing site-specific preventative measures that would minimize accidents requiring the implementation of emergency procedures, while optimizing the efficiency of manufacturing operations. Similarly, hazardous waste and material handling procedures that did not impede processes were developed in parallel with manufacturing operations. Furthermore, in order to minimize downtime, EBI Consulting structured the health and safety training sessions around the peak manufacturing hours (e.g. night sessions were scheduled for second and third shift personnel).
As a result of the plans implemented by EBI Consulting, one company avoided potential fines, a positive image was presented to the other company's landlord, and both companies met federal and state regulatory requirements.
Start-up Biotech Environmental, Health and Safety Services
EBI Consulting was retained to provide a full range of environmental, health and safety services to a startup biotechnology laboratory planning a major facility upgrade and renovation. Experts from EBI Consulting conducted an environmental, health and safety gap analysis to identify permits, approvals, and plans needed to meet city requirements for operating a new biosafety level 2 lab under the city's recombinant DNA research requirements. EBI Consulting experts also completed asbestos surveys and an asbestos operation and maintenance plan to ensure that city and state asbestos requirements were met during a very tight construction schedule. EBI Consulting also completed wastewater characterization and permit submittals, and is providing ongoing operation and maintenance services for the facility's wastewater treatment system. The company was thrilled with the results and has since retained EBI Consulting to provide ongoing staff training in laboratory safety, DOT hazardous materials handling, evacuation/fire safety, radiation safety, blood borne pathogens, and compressed gas safety.
Ready to learn how EBI Consulting’s environmental, health and safety services can create value for you? Call 781.273.2500 or email info@ebiconsulting.com . We’ll be happy to discuss your EHS needs.