Environmental Audits

The USEPA began proposing environmental audits as an element of enforcement case settlements during the mid‐1970s (Federal Register 1994). Such settlements are frequent The EPA defines environmental audits as a systematic, documented, periodic, and objective review by regulated entities of facility operations and practices related to meeting environmental requirements. Audits can be designed to verify compliance with environmental requirements, evaluate the effectiveness of environmental management systems already in place, and assess risks from both regulated and unregulated materials and practices.

Environmental auditing is a management tool that is considered to generally improve the overall environmental performance of manufacturing facilities. These audits usually focus on operating facilities that may involve processing, manufacturing, material procurement, storage, maintenance, distribution, and waste management. Environmental auditing should detect problems such as noncompliance and improper or inadequate waste management operations and, hopefully, permit timely correction. Managers of hazardous waste facilities, however, are doubtful and are concerned about the confidentiality of trade secret and possible discoveries by outsiders who may compete for similar manufacturing or processing business.