| Activity:
A natural or normal function of an
organization like our employees commuting to
work or traveling for inspections and
meetings as well as, their use of computers,
printers, lights and telephones when they
are in the building. |
| Audit:
A planned, independent and documented
assessment to determine whether agreed upon
requirements are being met. |
|
Audit,
Internal EMS: A periodic audit of the
EMS to verify that it is properly
implemented and that it continues to conform
to planned arrangements for environmental
management. It is an audit of the system and
findings are expressed as non-conformances.
Audit conclusions are based on the findings
and focus on the root causes that led to the
non-conformances. It is appropriate to seek
the root causes of known compliance findings
during an EMS audit, since these may reflect
EMS deficiencies.
|
| Audit,
Compliance: A periodic audit of
compliance to regulatory and other
requirements that are imposed on the
organization. Findings are expressed as
non-compliances. The search for root causes
in a typical compliance audit is not as
intense as it should be during an EMS audit. |
| Compliance:
An affirmative indication or judgment that
the supplier of a product or service has met
the requirements of the relevant
specifications, contract, or regulation;
also, the state of meeting the requirements. |
| Continual
Improvement: It is the process of
enhancing the environmental management
system to achieve improvements in overall
environmental performance in line with the
organization's environmental policy. |
| Document
Control: Synonymous with document
management but highlighting the importance
of removing outdated versions from use and
circulation and ensuring that employees are
only using the latest, authorized version.
The controlling document for the Center is
the version posted on the internet. |
| EMS
Coordinator/Management Representative: Is
responsible for ensuring; the EMS is
implemented and maintained; results of EMS
audits are reported to top management; and
preparing and presenting inputs to top
management during Management Reviews. |
| Environment:
The physical surroundings, including air,
water, land, natural resources, flora,
fauna, humans and their inter-relation. |
| Environmental
aspect: Element of an activity,
process or service that can interact with
the environment. (The environmental aspect
of an activity is that part of it that
creates a possibility for an environmental
impact. As such, it is equivalent to the
concept of “hazard”, in Safety, which is
also defined as the mere possibility of a
negative event.) |
| Environmental
Impact: Any change to the
environment, whether adverse or beneficial,
wholly or partially resulting from the
facility’s activities, products or
services. (A potential environmental impact
is equivalent to the concept of “risk”,
in Safety, which assigns a probability and
consequence to the possible negative event
that may result from a “hazard.”) |
| Environmental
management programs (EMPs): Are
implemented to achieve the objectives and
targets that are set for the EMS. They
include the timelines, resources and
responsibilities for achieving those
objectives and targets and are amended as
necessary with changing circumstances,
activities and operations. |
| Environmental
Objective: Is an
overall environmental goal, arising from the
environmental policy, that the regional
office sets itself to achieve, and which is
quantified where practicable in order to
facilitate the evaluation of environmental
performance and the measurement of progress
towards specific environmental targets. |
| Environmental
Performance: Measurable results of the
environmental management system, related to
an organization's control of its
environmental aspects, based on its
environmental policy, objectives and
targets. |
| Environmental
Policy: Is a statement by the regional
office of its intentions and principles in
relation to its overall environmental
performance which provides a framework for
action and for the setting of its
environmental objectives and targets. |
| Environmental
Target: Is defined as a detailed
performance requirement, quantified where
practicable, that arises from the
environmental objectives and that needs to
be set and met in order to achieve those
objectives. For example, if reduction in the
use of petroleum is an environmental
objective, a specific percentage decrease in
the associated usage rate could be
established as an associated target. |
| Incident
or Emergency: Contemplates more than
mere non-conformance in the EMS or a minor
spill or release [invoking local emergency
responders (i.e., Fire Department Hazmat
Team)]. |
| Interested
Party: Is an individual or group
concerned with or affected by the
environmental performance of facility
operations. |
| Non-compliance:
Failure to meet regulatory or other
requirements that have been imposed. A
compliance audit makes findings of
non-compliance |
|
Non-conformance:
Non-conformances are any deviations from
established procedures, programs and other
arrangements related to the EMS. They may
include non-compliances to regulations, but
not all non-compliances are necessarily
non-conformances of the EMS. An EMS audit
(internal or third-party) makes findings of
non-conformance.
|
| Operational
Controls: are broadly defined to include
technological ( e.g., shut-off valves) and
administrative (e.g., operator intervention,
standing procedures) controls. Operational
controls are applied to activities, products
and services to prevent the environmental
aspect that they exhibit from occurring. |
| Product:
What we produce for example letters,
reports, permits and guidance. |
| Programs/Work
Plans: Are implemented to achieve the
objectives and targets that are set for the
EMS. They include the timelines, resources
and responsibilities for achieving those
objectives and targets and are amended as
necessary with changing circumstances,
activities and operations. |
| Record:
Recorded information in any format, that is
created in the course of business, received
for action, or needed to document
activities. |
| Records
management: Means the planning,
controlling, directing, organizing,
training, promoting, and other managerial
activities involved with respect to records
creation, records maintenance and use, and
records disposition in order to achieve
adequate and proper documentation of the
policies and transactions of the Federal
Government and effective and economical
management of agency operations. |
| Senior
Management: Are the Science Center
Director, the Deputy Director, and/or
designees. Senior Managers are found within
the boundaries of the area or functions
covered by the scope of that EMS. The second
requirement for senior management is that
they have authority over all the areas and
functions that the EMS impinges on, and that
their authority is sufficient to initiate
actions and allocate resources without
further review or approvals. This level of
authority allows for the fact that their
discretion may be circumscribed by budgets
that have been previously approved by higher
authority. In other words, Senior Managers
in the EMS need not have absolute power to
allocate any resources and initiate any
actions. They simply need sufficient
authority to allocate or reallocate the
resources that have been approved for
operations within their purview and that are
to be used through their own discretion. |
| Service:
Performing any of the business functions
auxiliary to our production or distribution,
such as mailing, e-mailing and faxing
information to others and making telephone
calls. |
| Significant
environmental aspect: An
environmental aspect that has or can have a
significant environmental or business impact
(i.e., one that can potentially cause a
significant environmental or operational
impact.) |
| Suppliers
and Contractors: Organizations or
individuals that provide supplies,
materials, services and other tangible
goods. Contractors are more likely than
suppliers to provide services on or off
site. |
| Training,
Awareness: Refers to training that is
provided to all employees irrespective of
whether they are associated with significant
environmental aspects. |
| Training,
Competence: Refers to training that may
need to be provided to employees that are
associated with significant environmental
aspects. Such training is indicated when an
employee is not considered competent on the
basis of previous training, education, or
experience, to address the responsibilities
he/she has been charged with relative to the
significant environmental aspect in
question. |
