BNL Pollution Prevention Program Description

Brookhaven National Laboratory's (BNL) broad mission is to produce excellent science in a safe, environmentally responsible manner with the cooperation, support and appropriate involvement of our many communities. A strong Pollution Prevention (P2) Program is an essential element of successful accomplishment of this mission and BNL’s Environmental Management System. The BNL P2 Program reflects the National and Department of Energy pollution prevention goals and policies and represents an ongoing effort to make pollution prevention and waste minimization and integral part of the BNL operating philosophy.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this program description is to establish the strategy, goals, roles and responsibilities and elements of the BNL P2 Program. The overall all goal of the P2 Program is to create a systems approach that integrates pollution prevention and waste minimization, resource conservation, recycling, and affirmative procurement into all planning and decision making.

SCOPE

The scope of the BNL P2 Program includes:

• Elimination or reduction of wastes, effluents and emissions at the source
• Conservation of natural resources and reuse of materials
• Recycling, and
• Procurement of environmentally preferable products.

APPLICABILITY

The P2 Program description applies to all BNL employees, contractors, visitors, and guests.

POLICY AND DRIVERS

Pollution prevention and resource conservation are established as national policy objectives by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Responding to the requirements of these Acts, the DOE issued the Pollution Prevention Program Plan in 1996. The P2 Program Plan outlined the basic elements of pollution prevention programs to be developed at DOE sites, and established aggressive goals for waste reduction.

DOE has incorporated pollution prevention and waste reduction goals into Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA’s) contract. BSA, in recognition of its environmental stewardship responsibilities, potential for cost savings, and stakeholder concerns, has incorporated pollution prevention elements into the BNL Environmental Stewardship Policy and the Critical Outcomes.

Management and staff commitment to reducing wastes, effluents and emissions to levels which are as low as reasonably achievable ("Environmental ALARA") is central to the success of the Laboratory and achievement of waste reduction goals. This commitment, which is an important element of the Laboratory Environmental Management System (EMS), is demonstrated in management's policies (e.g., the Environmental Stewardship Policy) and standards of performance for all staff which require pollution prevention planning and implementation.

Specific responsibilities are incorporated in employee R2A2's (Roles, Responsibilities, Accountabilities, and Authorities), and are described in the following section on program elements.

GOALS

The goals of the BNL P2 Program are to:

• Develop a systematic and team approach that integrates pollution prevention and resource conservation into all projects and activities
• Reduce environmental impacts as low as reasonably achievable (Environmental ALARA)
• Achieve or exceed BNL/DOE Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention Goals
• Achieve or exceed the BNL/DOE Recycling Goals
• Achieve or exceed the BNL/DOE Affirmative Procurement Goals
• Reduce waste management costs
• Achieve timely implementation of Return-On-Investment (ROI) projects
• Comply with external drivers
• Identify and respond to trends
• Improve outreach and awareness
• Identify alternative funding mechanisms

PROGRAM ELEMENTS