ESOHCAMP ready to inspect: Weeklong assessment of environmental, safety and occupational health compliance

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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  More than 20 assessors from Team Elmendorf will comb the base beginning Aug. 10 to ensure compliance with all environmental, safety and occupational health regulations and laws.

It's all part of the base's internal Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment Management Program, or as it's commonly referred to, ESOHCAMP, scheduled Aug. 10-14.

The base self-assessment is designed to help commanders assess the status of their programs and find solutions to problems discovered during the assessment.

"We all have a mission responsibility to be good stewards of the environment and to ensure our operations remain compliant with environmental laws," said Lt. Col. Dean Hartman, 3rd Civil Engineer Squadron commander. "One of the ways that we validate our compliance, as well as enhance our performance, is through the ESOHCAMP."

A team of military and civilian environmental experts has been assembled from various units to visit shops all over Elmendorf.

"Assessors will be checking units for both good and bad practices in safety and occupational health practices, as well as the environmental protocols such as hazardous waste and material handling," said Jon Scudder, 3rd CES ESOHCAMP program manager.

"Hazardous material and waste management programs received the majority of the negative environmental findings during the last external ESOHCAMP in 2008," said Scudder. He added that the team will be looking hard at these areas, which will include contractor ESOH programs, as well as military shops.

"One area that is often overlooked is general storage areas, such as closets and sheds," said Scudder. "A thorough 'house cleaning' in those areas where hazardous materials may have inadvertently been placed against base regulations is necessary."

He said the easiest way to exceed the environmental requirements of the ESOHCAMP is to refer to 3rd Wing Operations Plan 19-3, Environmental Management, found on Topcover. "All the requirements for managing these programs are outlined in the checklists in Appendix B of the plan," said Scudder.

If a shop receives a negative finding during the assessment, the shop supervisor will be required to submit a management action plan. This is a detailed description of the work that will be done to fix the problem and close the finding.

The 3rd CES Environmental Flight will then use the data to look at the big picture and try to identify trends and prevent bad practices on base.

Besides helping to ensure the base is in compliance with federal laws, the annual ESOHCAMP assessment also prepares the base for recurring Pacific Air Forces assessments. The next PACAF visit is scheduled for 2010.

For units needing last-minute ESOHCAMP help, call Scudder at 552-9677.

(Courtesy of the 3rd Civil Engineer Squadron)