Occupational health and safety and environmental management

企业环境管理

EnvironmentalScience&Policy3(2000)39±45

/locate/envsci

Occupationalhealthandsafetyandenvironmentalmanagement

systems

AnteroHonkasalo

EnvironmentalProtectioninTradeandIndustry,MinistryoftheEnvironment,Box380,00131,Helsinki,Finland

Abstract

Integrationofoccupationalhealthandsafetymattersintoenvironmentalmanagementsystemscanbringmanybene®tstoindustrialcompanies.Theycanavoidduplicatedmeasuresand®ndoptimalsolutions,becausetheprinciplesofpreventionaresimilarinenvironmentalprotectionandsafetymanagement.However,themethodscurrentlyusedinenvironmentalmanagementandengineeringsuchaslife-cycleassessments,bestavailabletechnologyreports,andthemodelsofindustrialproductioncanhinderthisintegration,becausetheytakeintoaccountoccupationalrisksonlytoalimitedextent.Peoplecanalsoconsideroccupationalsafetyrisksmoreeasilythanenvironmentalrisksasanaturalpartoftheirwork.Thiscanleadtothesituationwhereoccupationalrisksareunderestimated.72000ElsevierScienceLtd.Allrightsreserved.

Keywords:Environmentmanagementsystem;Occupationalhealthandsafety;Riskperception

1.Introduction

Anumberofdi erentsupervisionmethodswillbeappliedinenvironmentalprotectionofindustry.Thesecanbeclassi®edasfollows:

.supervisionbasedonadministrativeregulationsandpermitprocedures;

.voluntaryagreements(canbelegallybinding)

.systemsandprocedurescerti®edbyathirdparty(certi®cationsubjecttocancellation);

.unilateralpublicdeclarationsandcommitmentsbyindustrialorganisationsandcompanies(controlthroughpublicity);

.informativesupervisionconductedbytheauth-orities;

.®nancialsupervisionthroughtaxesandcharges.Thereductionofindustrialdischargesandemissionshasuntilnowmainlybeenachievedthroughadminis-trativesupervisionandself-steeringenvironmentalpro-tectioninindustry.Althoughgoodresultshavebeen

E-mailaddress:antero.honkasalo@vyh.®(A.Honkasalo).achievedwithpermitsystemsenvironmentallawsandregulationshaveatthesametimebecomeamoreandmorecomplicatedmatter.Forexample,theEuropeanUnion(EU)hasmorethan200regulationsanddirec-tivesdealingwithenvironmentalmatters.

Ininternationalpolicydocuments,thevoluntaryapproach,suchasenvironmentalmanagementsystems,eco-labelsandnegotiatedagreementsareoftenseenasanalternativetothetraditionalcommandandcontrolapproach.Ofthese,especiallystandardisedenviron-mentalmanagementsystemsarebecomingimportantmeanstopromoteenvironmentalprotectioninindus-trialcompanies.TheInternationalstandardisationor-ganisation(ISO)accepteditsenvironmentalmanagementstandardISO14001inSeptember1996.TheCouncilRegulationoftheEuropeanCommunity,(EEC)No.1836/93,allowingvoluntaryparticipationofcompaniesintheindustrialsectorinaCommunityeco-managementandauditscheme,calledEMAS,cameintoe ectinApril1995.

ImplementationoftheISO14001-standardandtheEMAShasbeenfast(OECD,1998).AccordingtothestatisticsgatheredbyPeglau(1999)thereexisted

1462-9011/00/$-seefrontmatter72000ElsevierScienceLtd.Allrightsreserved.PII:S1462-9011(99)00046-

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