Environmental performance evaluation

The ISO has also produced a set of quality standards specifically for environmental management. This is the ISO 14000 series. The areas addressed by ISO 14000 are Environmental Management Systems, Environmental Performance Evaluations, Environmental Auditing, Life Cycle Assessment, and Environmental Labeling. 

In the second edition, 64 new validation SOPs are added to describe documentation required for sterility assurance, qualification and requalification template reports of major sterile equipments, critical applicable procedures, templates for certification guidelines, media fill procedures, environmental control guidelines, training, and critical environmental performance evaluation procedures. 

Section Val. 2100 provides 14 critical environmental performance evaluation tests, including ... 

ISO includes environmental management systems, environmental auditing, environmental labeling, environmental performance evaluation, and lifecycle assessment. It is a process rather than a performance-based system. 

The draft ISO 14031, Environmental Performance Evaluation , should provide important guidance to companies in both the selection and design of indicators. 

Computerised management systems are starting to be used for environmental data recording, monitoring, and environmental performance evaluation. 

Bennett, Martin and Peter James. ISO 14031 and the future of environmental performance evaluation. Greener Management International. Spring 98 (21) 71-86. 

This case study was a U.S. EPA initiative to evaluate the extent to which regulatory flexibility and other innovative environmental approaches could be used to achieve superior environmental performance at reduced economic and administrative burdens. 

During a field test of SABRE technology conducted at the DOD s Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, the U.S. Army Environmental Center evaluated the performance and cost of biotreatment as an alternative to incineration of munitions. Cost projections for this demonstration estimate a unit cost of approximately 300 to 350/yd (D18531T, p. 262). 

Improved Disposal Water Treatment at Bahrain Oil Fields" by Mum el at. discusses solutions to environmental concerns at Awali field. As Awali field water cuts increased, the amount of produced water and oil carry-over increased. To avoid environmental damage, more efficient oil-removal equipment was necessary. A wide variety of equipment was evaluated and the vertical-tube coalescer was selected. A description of the unit is presented. Performance evaluations were conducted, and the units exhibited good oil-removal efficiencies... 

The Performance Evaluation Tests for Environmental Research Program (PETER), jointly sponsored by the U.S. Navy and NASA, attempted to identify measures of human cognitive, perceptual, and motor abilities that would be sensitive to environmental perturbations that are associated with decrements in safety and productivity. An extensive collection of literature yielded more them 140... 

Chen, C.-Y. and Lin, K.-C. (1997) Optimization and performance evaluation of the continuous algal toxicity test, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 16 (7), 1337-1344. 

To establish a standard for data comparability, the EPA conducts laboratory performance evaluation (PE) studies that include common environmental pollutants. Results of the studies are statistically evaluated, and the derived acceptance criteria establish a standard for interlaboratory data comparability. These studies, however,... 

Section I provides an introduction to green chemistry and green engineering. Section II provides examples of pollution prevention heuristics for chemical processes. Heuristics of the two most important unit operations, reactors and separators, are covered. Section III introduces readers to the concept of environmental fate and transport and prediction of environmental fate properties. Understanding of environmental fate and transport is important for exposure assessment and also is essential for evaluating environmental performance of processes and products during process development and design. 

After a process flowsheet has been established, it is appropriate for a detailed environmental impact evaluation to be performed. The end result of the impact evaluation will be a set of environmental metrics (indexes) representing the major environmental impacts or risks of the entire process. A number of indexes are needed to account for potential damage to human health and to several important environmental compartments. 

During the demonstration period, experience has been gained in a number of areas. Areas of interest include general technical development, fuel flexibility, environmental performance and the evaluation of costs of future plants. 

US EPA, Performance Evaluation and Troubleshooting at Municipal Wastewater Treatment Facilities, EPA/430-9-78-001, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 1978. 

In designing, operating, and evaluating chemical plants and their products, the concept of cleaner production has a key role in improving environmental performance. An early definition of cleaner production states ... 

Environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) provides a mechanism for systematically evaluating the environmental impacts linked to a product or process and in guiding process or product improvement efforts. LCA-based information also provides insights into the environmental impacts of raw material and product choices, and maintenance and end-of-product-life strategies. Because of the systematic nature of LCA and its power as an evaluative tool, the use of LCA is increasing as environmental performance becomes more and more important in society. It is likely that LCA will soon become widely used within U.S. industry and by those involved in crafting national and regional environmental policy. 

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