Cradle to grave responsibility

ISO 14000 is a series of standards intended to assist in managing the impact of manufactured materials including finished products and original feedstocks. It addresses the need to have one internationally accepted environmental management system that involves cradle to grave responsibility for manufactured materials emphasizing the impact of products, operations, and services on the environment. 

Generators. There are many types of businesses and industries that generate hazardous wastes. These include manufacturers, oil refineries, professional offices, commercial facilities such as dry cleaners, service industries including beauty salons, automobile repair shops, and exterminators and medical facilities, hospitals, and laboratories. Based on the RCRA manifest system, these generators have cradle-to-grave responsibility for the proper disposal of the hazardous wastes in the United States. 

Liability reduction. Facilities are responsible for their wastes from cradle-to-grave. By eliminating or reducing waste generation, future liabilities can also be decreased. Additionally, the need for expensive pollution liability insurance requirements may be abated. 

Third-party accountability Changing laws and public perceptions Cradle-to-grave stewardship responsibilities... 

SAFETY, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT Cradle-to-Grave Stewardship Responsibilities... 

Today Responsible Care exists in 52 countries worldwide and has become the industry s initiative to address environmental, health, and safety (EHS), security, outreach, process safety and cradle to grave product management. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970 to protect the environment from pollution. Initially, the EPA focused on recycling and cleaning up open dump sites, but today the government has passed over 12 environmental laws that impact air, water, and land. These laws hold the manufacturers responsible for the hazardous wastes they generate from cradle to grave. 

When the supplier accepts deUvery of the returned canister containing adsorbent saturated with solvent vapor, they must accept legal responsibility for compliant disposal ofthe adsorbed solvent. Normallythegeneratorofhazardous waste (in the US) is responsible formanagement ofthe waste from "cradle to grave." However as part of written business relationships, this responsibility may be transferred. 

The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 require that the waste generator take responsibility for the waste from cradle to grave. The duty does not end when the waste leaves the premises but extends to ensure that it is treated in a proper manner throughout its transportation and final disposal. It is important that a potential waste contractor is subjected to a Duty of Care audit prior to final selection. 

Federal and state regulators have enacted many laws and regulations designed to control waste disposal cradle to grave. A hazardous waste may be any waste that poses an actual or potential threat to the public or environment and it is the generators responsibilities to manage waste in compliance with applicable regulations. 

By 1976, problems caused by the accumulation of large quantities of hazardous waste prompted Congress to pass the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This legislation gave EPA the responsibility of developing a cradle to grave approach to hazardous waste. 

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