Original Date: 03/01/1993
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP), Jacksonville has developed a centralized service for handling hazardous material, hazardous waste, waste oil and recyclables which institutes JIT principles and a user-friendly system. The Environmental Control Center (ECC) provides this service which has resulted in significant reduction in generated hazardous waste and hazardous material inventory.

The ECC is a centralized receiving and issue area for hazardous materials for the NADEP, Jacksonville shops. The ECC personnel coordinate the procurement of hazardous materials in conjunction with the process users based on historical usage. The ECC receives hazardous material and delivers the material to the process site in the appropriate containers and controls the quantity of hazardous materials procured through facility-wide centralized screening of requisitions. This effort eliminated the autonomous purchase of hazardous materials by individual shops that frequently resulted in over-procurement due to numerous minimum quantity purchases being larger than the requirement. The ECC inspects received materials for damage, expiration, and proper labeling.

The ECC is also the centralized pickup and dispositioner for hazardous waste for the shops. ECC personnel pick up hazardous waste in conjunction with the hazardous materials delivery service and manages the hazardous waste by consolidating like-wastes, inspecting for container damage, applying appropriate labeling, and manifesting and coordinating disposal.

Prior to the establishment of the ECC, individual material users were responsible for managing hazardous materials and hazardous wastes including labeling, manifesting, and disposition. Some of these activities are regulatory requirements involving liability and potential penalties. The ECC provides expertise to complete these steps, significantly reducing these issues. A user only has to call the ECC and request delivery or pick up of material. The ECC is also responsible for recyclable material pickup and disposition, and Material Safety Data Sheet management.

As a centralized activity for both hazardous material and waste, the ECC has leveraged resources to more efficiently perform related activities. For example, the ECC hazardous materials inventory and hazardous waste tracking databases provide valuable information for reutilization of excess materials, improved procurement strategies, shelf-life determination and reporting, and monitoring satellite accumulation storage. In addition, a dedicated staff for the ECC can be effectively trained in accordance with regulations, thereby developing expertise in hazardous material and hazardous waste management.

As a result of instituting the ECC, NADEP, Jacksonville has reduced the hazardous material procurement from $7 million in FY 90 to $5.1 million in FY 92, reduced hazardous material inventory on the shop floor from eight months to two weeks, and reduced municipal waste by 35%. Unquantifiable benefits include improved tracking of materials, improved security of materials, and leveraging of resources. The ECC annual recurring costs of operation are more than offset considering the easily quantified benefits alone.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.