FACILITY DESCRIPTION

Staff of NAVAIR Depot, North Island uses a variety of industrial processes and equipment in multiple applications including painting, abrasive blasting, chemical stripping, electroplating, chemical cleaning and degreasing, metal spray, jet engine testing, machining, non-destructive testing, composite repair, heal treating and foundry. In addition, hundreds of minor processes in the shop areas generate hazardous wastes from daily repair and manufacturing activities.

Operating in one of the more stringently regulated areas of the United States, the NAVAIR Deport is inspected semi-annually by the San Diego Air Pollution Control District, annually by the San Diego Department of Health Services and randomly by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Regional Water Control Board, the San Diego Metropolitan Industrial Waste Program and the California Air Resources Board.

The diversity of industrial activities being performed at NAVAIR Depot North Island, the multitude of environmental regulatory drivers for the different media areas, and the multiple command functional groups and shop areas makes the challenge of identifying, prioritizing, budgeting and implementing relevant Pollution Prevention (P2) projects enormous.

1.0 THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM APPROACH

The NAVAIR Depot, North Island was the first federal facility to successfully register to the ISO 14001 standard. The Environmental Management System (EMS) focuses on continual improvement. P2 and Waste Prevention have been fully integrated into the organization by command policy. The policy is based on command understanding that all improvements to our product line -- quality, safety, and environmental -- provide a benefit to the environment and, therefore, environmental improvement is everyone's job. This new approach has been formalized into a command Environmental Management System (EMS) registered to the ISO 14001 standard. The EMS includes everyone (complete horizontal and vertical integration), which has had the effect of empowering the employees and creating a synergy of ideas and involvement. Since this cultural change, the command has implemented programs that reduce a significant amount of pollution and provide significant cost savings, while providing a superior product more efficiently. This is particularly significant because, prior to adopting the EMS, NAVAIR Depot North Island environmental staff believed all of the ideas for improving the environment had been considered and implemented, where feasible.

The criteria used to assess competing projects are:

1. Pollutant Reduction potential,
2. Technical Feasibility,
3. Funding,
4. Cost to Implement,
5. Return on Investment,
6. Quality of Product,
7. Safety and Health,
8. Regulatory Compliance,
9. Productivity,
10. Resource Conservation and
11. Public Relations.

All criteria utilized are designed to support the mission while improving environmental performance. Top projects are submitted to upper management for further subjective review and approval for implementation.

Critical to the success of the EIT is the use of a customized EMS Lotus Notes-based software system to manage document control and record keeping (DCRS) functions. The EMS DCRS is an on-line management tool that allows multiple authorized users to enter suggested improvement projects on an Environmental Management Program (EMP) Form, comment on and track the progress of an improvement project as it goes through the implementation process and, if necessary, provide additional input that might make the process more effective and efficient. This system significantly minimizes the administrative burden.

The EMS process generates "objectives and targets" for individual Small Business Units (SBUs), including the Environmental Program Office (EPO). These fall into two basic categories: (1) compliance driven or (2) continual improvement. Since the inception of the NAVAIR Depot North Island EMS in 1998, an unprecedented 46 objectives and targets have been submitted to the system and 23 have been completed, including:

Laser Pointer

• Vapor Corrosion Inhibition bags to improve preservation of parts (eliminated use of preservation oil)
• Replace walnut blast with Plastic Media Blast (PMB). PMB is recyclable.
• Replace water curtain with dry filter to reduce chrome air emissions
• Recycle shipping materials in the Shipping and Receiving area of the Primary Standards Lab
• Implement wipe solvent replacement to reduce VOC air emissions
• Monitor Direct Digital Control system added in individual lab rooms for identification of energy savings
• Install 3-stage filter to reduce our chrome air emissions (large paint cells)
• Laser Pointer to increase transfer efficiency from paint spray gun to the surface being painted (depicted in photo at right)

The Table, below, presents the EMS progress toward achieving objectives and targets from CY 1998 through CY 2000.