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JB MDL prepares for upcoming Environmental and Occupational Health Inspection

  • Published
  • By 87th Air Base Wing Environmental Office
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  In 2010, the 87th Air Base Wing received word from the Air Mobility Command that an Environmental and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Program inspection would occur in 2011.

Due to the size and complexity of JB MDL, the audit will run for two weeks, from March 28 to April 8, rather than the typical four day duration. The EOHCAMP acronym has been briefed at leadership meetings and by environmental managers over the last year, but what does it actually mean for the rest of the base?

The EOHCAMP is a base-wide assessment that helps in achieving compliance with local, state and federal environmental and occupational health regulations and is established by Air Force Instruction 90-803. EOHCAMP is broken into two parts, an internal and an external inspection. The internal audit, by 87th ABW personnel, occurs annually, with the most recent one completed in November 2010. The external EOHCAMP assessment, conducted every three years by higher headquarters, requires the participation of all personnel on the joint base.

"The EOHCAMP affects all personnel at JB MDL and will cover all Supported Commands and Tenants, from fence line to fence line across the 42,000 acres that makes up the joint base," said Ken Smith, 87th ABW Environmental Section chief. "The overall results of the inspection depend on each and every one of us, whether they are Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Coast Guardsmen, Marines or civilians."

Smith brings more than twenty years of environmental experience to JB MDL, having worked as a civilian supervisory engineer for the Navy, Army, and now, the Air Force since the standup of the joint base.

The EOHCAMP is an inspection of how everybody on base implements the programs set in place by the 87 ABW, not only of specialists in occupational health or environmental management.

The inspection team will be asking each person to demonstrate what knowledge they have of personal protective equipment and waste disposal. According to Smith, training records are another area where the EOHCAMP results are based on the actions of individuals. By completing all required environmental training and then implementing training in the individual workspaces, we can all do our part to ensure compliance during the EOHCAMP.

"If you are following all the environmental, safety and occupational health procedures outlined in the training, we will have a successful EOHCAMP this spring," said Smith.

What are the areas that will receive special attention during the EOHCAMP? Hazardous waste, hazardous material storage and handling, water and air will all be reviewed as well as the overall Environmental Management System program.

EMS is the way modern facilities organize their environmental programs. It aligns environmental actions with the overall mission of the base. By focusing on first things first, it maximizes the contribution Environmental makes to the base and helps eliminate obstacles to military operations. EMS makes the base more sustainable, in both the short term and over the long haul. The EOHCAMP validates that the JB MDL EMS is in place and working.

"EOHCAMP helps direct the culture of the JB MDL for all of us by not only working in a safer environment, but by ensuring the base doing its part to be greener and cleaner, by making sure we have a positive effect on the environment," said Smith.

This positive effect requires following service-wide or nation-wide regulations as well as standard operating procedures that govern our work areas. Complying with proper storage of chemicals and flammables, recycling cans, bottles and cardboard, not putting ladders and tables against electrical panels and wearing proper personal protective equipment are all aspects of JB MDL culture rooted in our instructions.

"The Air Base Wing has an interest, not only in maintaining the property entrusted to the JB MDL, but in cleaning it up and in making sure that we're doing everything we can to fully comply with all federal, state and local standards, thereby sustaining the missions of all our joint base partners," said Smith.

The EOHCAMP should be taken seriously, but not be feared. It is a useful tool, like many inspections, to help all of the units assigned to JB MDL better manage their occupational health and environmental responsibilities. Col. Martha Meeker, 628th ABW commander, Joint Base Charleston, will lead the inspection team.

"The intent of the EOHCAMP is to assist the joint base commander in identifying areas of non-compliance with regulations and (Department of Defense) policy," said Smith. "The Air Force believes it is better to have non-compliant areas identified for corrective action rather than have them cited by a regulator or in an accident investigation."

For more information regarding the EOHCAMP, refer to the ABW commander's environmental policy statement that highlights the intent of the unit's environmental plan and, additionally, either of the lead offices - Bio-Environmental or Environmental will be glad to assist you to ensure full compliance.