subject: Corporate Accidents That Can Result In Pollution [print this page] When a person is running a business there are many different aspects of the business that must be tended too. With so many different tasks to focus on, many business owners can become overwhelmed with maintaining the environmental stability of their business. Beyond the mandated precautions, it is a good idea to designate one or more people within your company to work as monitors whose job it is to oversee all of the aspects of your company's environmental impact. These people can develop new strategies, educate new employees, and monitor the current policies to ensure they are up held. Despite all your preparation and attempts to prevent any negative impact on the environment there are a few accidents that can occur that could cause some damage to the environment surround your location. Having a plan in place and the tools you will need to act quickly will help you lessen the negative consequence your company experiences as a result of these unfortunate accidents. Here are a few examples of scenarios you should be prepared to deal with.
Just as Mother Nature can impact our homes, she can also exercise her mighty forces on our companies as well. No matter how sophisticated your containment areas are, if your facility is exposed to extreme weather or other types of natural disasters, it may not with stand the intense impact. The perfect example of this is the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that affected two of that country's nuclear power plants. Damage to a building, or other containment area could cause toxic materials or other pollutants to be released into soil, water, or the air nearby your businesses location. Having a plan to deal with this quickly and building facilities made to withstand this type of threat will help you better prepare for this type of accident.
Computers are fairly reliable and most companies use them to monitor hazardous materials or other dangerous conditions. Sometimes though, computers fail and warning systems do not function properly. Establishing several different systems to monitor each threat will minimize the chances a problem could go undetected.
Any time products leave our contained areas and are transported, the threat of an accident while the product is in route should be evaluated. Many countries have restrictions in place that dictate what types of materials can be transported in certain areas and by different types of transit. For instance, highly nuclear materials cannot be transported by air plane because of the possibility that the plane could crash and cause major damage to the crash site. If you are transporting materials by truck, be sure to educate your drivers on the approved routes for your hazardous materials. Many cities have restrictions about what materials can pass through underground tunnels. If an accident on the road does occur involving any type of spill you should contact local law enforcement so they can involve the appropriate cleanup crews and ensure the safety of the environment and local communities.
Monitoring a company's environmental impact is the responsibility of the business owner. Do not let your environmental planning fall by the wayside because there could be real consequences both financially and to your workers and community.
