WEST VALLEY, N.Y. - The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently certified EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) for new requirements for the site’s environmental management system (EMS).
A revised standard by ISO specifies requirements for an EMS that WVDP can implement to minimize environmental impacts from cleanup operations.
With a membership of 161 national standards bodies, the independent, non-governmental international organization brings together experts to develop voluntary international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.
WVDP received the certification under its prime contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV).
“This was a team effort that started in 2017 and involved several months of planning," CHBWV Vice President of Regulatory Strategy Janice Williams said. “We are committed to performing our work in a safe and environmentally sound manner, and integrating safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements into everything we do."
The revised standard calls for greater accountability from leadership, enhanced proactive environmental initiatives, improved communication internally and externally, and more rigorous environmental risk evaluations.
To earn the certification, WVDP and CHBWV conducted an analysis of the EMS program against the new standard, subsequent revisions based on the analysis, and a third-party review of the revised program.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
