Environmental Inspection Promotes Environmental Awareness and Best Practices Among Employees and Contractors

Environmental Inspection Promotes Environmental Awareness and Best Practices Among Employees and Contractors, By: Moises Dimalia

Consistent with the policy to conduct its business with positive regard for the management of the environment and well being of its immediate community, OceanaGold’s Didipio Gold-Copper Project is currently implementing Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program. A regular inspection in all work areas is part of the strategies to meet the objective of this program which is to comply and if possible, exceed all environmental standards and regulations.

The Environmental Quality Monitoring Team of the Sustainability Department conducts regular inspections to ensure that all activities of the Company and its contractors work towards protecting the environment. It also helps the Company maintain compliance on regulatory requirements and avoid unnecessary environmental impacts.

Currently, environmental key parameters are included in a checklist which is used during inspections and these include waste water management, solid waste management, toxic and hazardous waste management and other environmental concerns.

Under the water waste management, the Team inspects if there is enough wastewater containment like mud pit/settling ponds and if wastes in the accommodation, camp sites and offices contained or treated before discharge to water bodies.

Solid waste management is included in the checklist. The Team inspects whether wastes are collected and segregated properly and if there are garbage pit for disposal of residual wastes.

Another parameter is the management of waste oil, hydrocarbon spillages, toxic and hazardous substances which are inspected in all maintenance and motor pool areas and drill sites. The Team ensures that there are labeled containers for waste oil; oil and fuel containers are in good condition and not leaking and have secondary containment system like bund walls; accidental release or spill of fuel, oil and other hazardous materials are collected and managed; and equipment and other machines are in good condition with no excessive oil leaks. There are also hazardous substances which are controlled and restricted by the environmental regulations that should be used properly.

If solid and liquid wastes are poorly managed, they can bring potential environmental amenity and visual impacts into the community. Similarly, hazardous substances if poorly managed can contaminate both the soil and water components of the environment and pose health risks to people.

The Environmental Department implements soil erosion control measures including minimizing disturbance of natural ecosystems by conducting inspections at construction sites and at main and access roads and other mine facilities. Erosion control measures like diversion of water runoff away from disturbed areas, silt fencing including planting of various species is also undertaken to control erosion from disturbed areas.

All these environmental parameters are monitored and checked regularly to comply with the Company’s commitment to environment protection.

Meanwhile, the environment manager or superintendent initially conducts environmental orientation on key environmental issues to all employees and contractors. In addition, service contractors are required to submit an Environmental Management Plan on how they proceed and conduct their activities without harming the environment.

There are instances where some employees and contractors forget or overlook what has been discussed during orientation or what has been stated in their Environmental Management Plans. Regular inspections are important to ensure that employees and contractors are aware of the possible impact of their activities on the environment. This will enable them to implement the necessary actions to control or mitigate their environmental impacts.

A part of the follow up to an environmental inspection is the preparation of a corrective action report (CAR) which is issued to the concerned department or contractor. Upon discovery of an environmental nonconformance or concern, the following procedures are undertaken to address such non-conformance:

1. The concerned department is issued a CAR to address the non-conformance. In the CAR, the description or details of the non-conformance is clearly stated, approved and signed by the environment head.

2. The concerned department/contractor/process owner also has to state the actions they will take to address any nonconformance including the target completion date.

3. The environmental inspector follows-up the status of the agreed corrective action on the target completion date. When completed, the CAR is closed. It remains open if the agreed corrective action is not completed or no action was taken. In this case, the concerned department/contractor has to state another target completion date to be asked again by the environmental inspector or be issued with another CAR.

4. All inspection and CARs are filed on the registry at the Company’s Environmental Department.

All these activities are undertaken to help promote environmental awareness among employees and contractors and improve practices which have potential impacts to all components of the environment. Thus, these will optimize the Company’s commitment in the protection of the environment, strengthen compliance to regulatory requirements, and improve the Company’s public image by its commitment to protecting the environment.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The Company views the disregarding of a CAR as a serious breach of company policy. If a CAR is ignored, the concerned person (be it employee or contractor) is formally warned. Should the warning go unheeded, the failure to comply may result in the person concerned being dismissed by his/her manager.