ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING

Click to edit Master subtitle style Dr S Syampungani

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INTRODUCTION
EA

An independent, method of verifying that

i) environmental regulations ii) Internal policies and

systematic

iii) Good operating practices are being followed

in an organisation

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TYPES OF AUDITS
These are dependent on the objective of

the audit
They are many: i) Compliance audits: documented,

periodic and objective review to meeting environmental requirement

ii) Management Audit: for determining

if an adequate compliance management system is established and used correctly to integrate environmental requirement 4/14/12

TYPES OF AUDITS
iii) Liability definition audit:
a)Identification of environmental problems that

could reduce the value of the property or expose the buyer to liability
b) helps to establish due diligence (gathering

facts and information in a prudent manner and applying technical knowledge to identify where problem exist)

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FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING

i) Environmental audit team separate from

and independent of the persons and activities to be audited

ii) Adequate team staffing and auditor

training

iii) Explicit audit program objectives,

scope, resources and frequency

iv) A process that collects, analyzes,

interprets and documents information sufficient to achieve audit objectives 4/14/12

STAEGS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING

i) Audit program planning ii) Preaudit preparation iii) On-site activities iv) Evaluation of audit and reporting of

findings

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PROGRAM PLANNING
Includes
i) Obtaining commitment by management ii) Defining the objectives and requirements iii) Developing an information management

system

iv) Organisation of the team

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PROGRAM PLANNING...
A. Definition of Objectives and Scope Objective: e.g. i) Is the goal to ensure

compliance, iii)to minimize waste generation or iii)to look for liabilities that might be there from past practices e.g. Are all the areas of environmental management to be covered or only one specific part like air quality (see Table1)

Scope:

For example a compliance audit could

cover 4/14/12

Topics of an environmental compliance audit

Topics Hazardous waste regulations Issues e.g. Identification of hazard, storage, waste minimization Release notification Record keeping and reporting Emergency response planning Leakage

Past disposal of hazardous waste Air pollution regulations Emergency planning requirements Underground storage tanks

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PROGRAM PLANNING...
B. Confidentiality Sometime an audit may be conducted

under legal arrangement to protect confidentiality

When there is potential for an adverse

Confidentiality is important
community reaction if communication is not clear- appropriate forum
Development of appropriate and effective
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strategies for correcting problems noted

PROGRAM PLANNING...
B. Organisation of Auditing Program Organising the auditing program answers

the following questions any?

i) What is the frequency of the audits, if ii) Will the audit program be conducted by

environmental consultants?

iii) Or will it be done by the corporate staff

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as part of their normal jobs?

PROGRAM PLANNING...
Team of Auditing Specialists i) Lead Auditor ii) Auditor specialists NOTE: The selection of the team has a

major influence on the success of the audit

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PREAUDIT PREPARATION
A. Previsit Data Collection Development of a questionnaire to collect

the following information

i) A management chart showing key personnel

and their line and staff responsibilities

ii) A site lay out showing the location of various

operations, particularly the key items to be examined eg waste storage area

iii) A brief description and block diagram of

operating processes and any pollution control 4/14/12 units, showing recent modifications

PREAUDIT PREPARATION ...

A. Previsit Data Collection
iv) A list of major hazardous substances or all

raw material used at the facility

v) A List of all types of waste generated and

how each is managed

vi) A list of all environmental regulatory permits

of the sites

vii) All environmental plans and policy manuals.

For example spill prevention and control plans

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viii) Information about non compliance history of

any sort

PREAUDIT PREPARATION ...

Hazardous materials
i) What is the latest hazardous materials

inventory?
ii) Do any aboveground or underground tanks

exist on site?

General issues which may be

addressed
plant?

i) What are the production processes at the ii) 4/14/12

What is the acreage of the facility?

PREAUDIT PREPARATION ...

B. Audit Protocol A critical audit tool Protocols

are prepared with separate sections for AIR, WATER, WASTE and whatever else is deemed important protocol uses either of the two approaches: Checklist or review and evaluation a way that it is not leading to the

A checklist must be designed in such

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ON-SITE AUDIT
The reasons for on-site audit are:
i) To review document at the facility ii)To interview facility employees and; iii) To inspect thoroughly all relevant operations

at the facility

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ON-SITE AUDIT
Steps: i) Orientation ii) Interviewing Facility employees iii) Document review iv) Data sampling v) Visual inspections

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ON-SITE AUDIT...
ORIENTATION

Issues:

Safety measures- access to certain parts may require protective gear of logistical and overview issues time to expand the team s understanding of facility operationsoperational set up and chemical inventory

Discussion The

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ON-SITE AUDIT...
INTERVIEWING FACILITY EMPLOYEES

Discussions with facility employees Important point to remember when conducting

interview is that the opening moments are critical to establishing both i) relaxed atmosphere and ii) Professional relationship with the interviewee
Introduce yourself, your background and your objectives Ensure that the person has appropriate amount of time available Explain how the information will be used during and

Therefore, it is important to:

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ON-SITE AUDIT...
DOCUMENT REVIEW

Documents

that have to be reviewed include analytical results, permits, emergency plans, training and monitoring program a number of issues including:
operations
The specific

Permit is more important because it covers

A description of relevant facility equipment and

start and stop dates and the date limitation on discharges,

for renewal
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The

quantitative

ON-SITE AUDIT...

Monitoring, maintenance and reporting requirements selection for inclusion in the report

DATA SAMPLING
Document Actual

data collection for analysis

VISUAL INSPECTION
Inspection

of the constructed systems eg treatment plant, containment devices and the operating procedures (eg routine monitoring)

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EVALUATION AND PRESENTATION

Immediate feedback from employees-

after the interview

Working papers: organisation of notes

from interviews, document reviews and inspection analysis of all the collected information

Comprehensive evaluation: integrated Exit interview with the key personnel

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EVALUATION AND PRESENTATION

Audit report Two possibilities: Firstly i) audit team prepares the report

during the performance of the audit ii) The report is left with the team for their immediate review.
Secondly , the report is prepared off site

and then sent to the facility conclusions

The audit report should never draw legal

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