ESOHCAMP: Team wraps up recent assessment of base

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. C. Michaela Walrond
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Hanscom AFB --  After an out-brief June 8, Hanscom's Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment Management Program team officially wrapped up their recent assessment of the base. 

The ESOHCAMP team was composed of volunteer military members and civilians -- some with either environmental, safety or occupational health professional backgrounds -- and others who were novices in that particular area. 

During the recent assessment, the group put Hanscom to the test, checking the base's level of compliance with all applicable federal, state, Department of Defense and United States Air Force environmental regulations in the 13 major environmental protocols, in addition to 22 safety and occupational health protocols. 

The protocols evaluated included air emissions, cultural resources, hazardous waste, hazardous materials, water quality, solid waste, wastewater, natural resources, pesticides, petroleum, oil and lubricants, storage tanks, toxic substances, blood borne pathogens, confined space entry, ionizing radiation, hazardous communication, laboratory practices and other issues involving radon, polychlorinated biphenyls and asbestos. 

The team looked at activities where "increased risk was expected," said Chris Simpson, 66th Air Base Wing Civil Engineering environmental manager and ESOHCAMP team member. These places included specific areas under the 66th Air Base Wing, the Air Force Research Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Fourth Cliff recreational area near Cape Cod, Mass., Ipswich, Mass. and Detachment 2 Air Force Weather Agency at Sagamore Hill. 

Additionally, the Electronic Systems Center Safety Office worked side-by-side with volunteers to ensure the base was in compliance with various safety codes. 

The process for ESOHCAMP included identifying symptoms that indicated systemic weaknesses. By doing this, Mr. Simpson said, the program would help prepare the base for a regulatory agency inspection, and additionally, would support both the Environmental Management System and the Voluntary Protection Program. 

Criteria used for this assessment include: three categories of negative findings --significant, major and minor, in addition to positive and management practice findings. Findings listed in all categories are calculated and used for an installation's overall rating. 

The largest number of major findings found fell under the category of Hazardous Materials; however, the protocol also produced 5 positive findings in that critical environmental compliance area, said Mr. Simpson. In addition, last year there were several major findings in the area of safety, whereas this year they were almost all minor, he said. 

Hanscom undergoes the ESOHCAMP process annually, but every third year an external team from Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command conducts an assessment. The team cited support from leadership, management and workers' knowledge of workplace safety and occupational health requirements for aiding in the installation's results. "I'm proud of everyone that volunteered to carry out this important process," said Col. Tom Schluckebier, 66th Air Base Wing commander. "Programs such as ESOHCAMP play a vital role in helping Hanscom establish and maintain safe living and working conditions for our people."