The Q&A
The definition of environment in ISO 14001:2004 carries a note that says: ‘Surroundings in this context extend from within an organization to the global system.’
The definition includes ‘human’, and those impacted by the aspects within the organization are indeed the people working in the process. This therefore suggests that the health and safety of those people falls into the realms of ISO 14001.
Are organizations, by complying with ISO 14001, meeting most of the requirements of OHSAS 18001 and health and safety laws and regulations in general?
Yes, it does include the human to some extent as long as it can be directly linked and the effect is immediate.
If one believes ISO 14001 will cover the health and wellbeing of people, it must be carefully analysed when identifying the activities of the organization to ensure the impact is immediate and not long-term.
For the most part, the role of the environmental aspects and impact analysis is to effectively control any adverse or abnormal effects on the earth’s ecosystem which supports flora, fauna and, ultimately, human beings.
The analysis must be carefully treated as it could lead to misconception that it will cover all the immediate health effects of people. For example, we are now beginning to understand that global warming is caused by carbon dioxide emissions. This does not have an immediate effect on someone’s health as it is highly unlikely that any one individual could be caught in a confined space or exposed to high concentrations in a relatively short time. The impact of global warming affects everyone, gradually and, for the time being, at a relatively low concentration. However, it does present the long-term effect of creating an imbalance in our ecosystem.
It is also worth noting that, for example, while chemicals used carefully for a particular purpose in a controlled environment may not have any effect on the ecosystem, coming into direct contact might have an adverse effect on human health. This adverse effect would go unnoticed if we rely only on ISO 14001 - evidence that it doesn't cover all aspects of human health but, rather, has a greater concern with the ecosystem overall.
Extending the standard would, I imagine, generate a lot of argument and debate between auditors and auditees.
By SAI Global
Alex Ezrakhovich is general manager at SAI Global Certification Services Pty Ltd. For more information visit www.sai-global.com
When interpreting the definition of environment within ISO 14001 it is quite correct to infer that the health and safety of people, both working within the organization as well as those in the wider surroundings, falls into the realms of ISO 14001. The question is more: to what extent does the health and safety of people fall into the realms of the standard? There is also a certain amount of overlap between the requirements of ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001:1999 and focus should be placed upon determining the extent of these grey areas.
In ascertaining the applicable legal and other requirements of the environmental management system it is likely that some health and safety laws will be identified, but only in so far as they apply to the organization's environmental aspects. Typical examples of overlapping regulations include: control of asbestos in the air regulations; carriage of dangerous goods by road and rail regulations; control of major accident hazards regulations; and the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals.
However, it would almost certainly be a step too far to state that by complying with the requirements of ISO 14001, an organization would also be meeting the requirements of OHSAS 18001 or indeed health and safety laws and regulations in general. For example, it is unlikely that the requirements of the provision and use of work equipment regulations, operations and lifting equipment regulations or display screen equipment regulations would be related to the environmental aspects of the organization.
In addition OHSAS 18001 requires that organizations consider hazards, not only with the potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill health, but also in terms of damage to property and/or the workplace environment which is not addressed by ISO 14001.
Therefore, an effective way to ensure an organization meets the requirements of health and safety laws and regulations in general is to implement OHSAS 18001 either as a separate or integrated management system.
By LRQA
Don Stanley is LRQA’s UK head of assessment. For more information visit www.lrqa.co.uk
