4 JAX AIR NEWS, NAS JACKSONVILLE, Thursday, October 22, 2009


Not surprisingly, the station's largest generator of hazardous waste by volume is Fleet Readiness Center Southeast.


SK2 Lindsay Burch (left) and SK2 Kristin Stevens of NAS Jax Hazardous Material Center,
receive clean rags from Derek McCullough (right) with Unifirst as Billie Brownfield, NAS jax
assistant hazardous waste manager, looks on. Unifirst collects the dirty rags and takes them to
Ocala to be washed and then returns them.


HANDI)LING


Cubic yard bags may contain non-hazardous waste such as oily rags.


HAZARDOUS


WASTE BY THIIIE BOOK
 SByoClark Pierce


(From left) MA3 James Murdock of NAS Jax Security assures
Assistant Hazardous Waste Manager Jody Smith that each fir-
ing range target and shell casing is properly disposed of in a
hazardous waste container.







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N early everything you and your shipmates do
 generates some kind of waste. According to the
 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
American consumers and businesses produced more
than 251 million tons of municipal solid waste or 4.6
pounds of waste per person per day in 2006. In addition,
American industrial facilities generate and dispose of 7.6
billion tons of hazardous solid waste each year.
 Environmental oversight of hazardous waste compliance
at NAS Jacksonville is the responsibility of Jane Beason,
environmental department hazardous waste manager.
Her team includes two inspectors, Billie Brownfield and
Jody Smith, who monitor compliance and coordinate
enforcement of regulations governing hazardous waste
activities at each command.
 As stated by Congress, the objectives of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act are "to promote the pro-
tection of health and the environment and to conserve
valuable material and energy resources." With these goals
in mind, EPA developed hazardous waste recycling regu-
lations to promote reuse and reclamation of useful hazard-
ous material in a manner that is safe and protective of
human health and the environment.
 Since 1985, Florida has been authorized by EPA to
administer its own hazardous waste management and
regulatory program. An important feature of the program
is the state's agreement to inspect and monitor regulated
activities and take appropriate enforcement action against
violators.
 "Right now, we perform weekly inspections at more than
30 construction sites on station to ensure compliance with
the station waste management plan, as well as applicable
state and federal regulations," said Beason. "Contractors
are briefed by environmental and public works staff before
they begin projects."
 Every week, Smith and Brownfield conduct on-site
inspections of station commands and contractor sites to
maintain compliance.
 "From expired hazardous waste containers to incorrect
storage or disposal, we take a partnership approach to
managing hazardous waste. Should a problem occur, the
first thing we do is work with the command or contrac-
tor to fix it. Then we follow up with training so everybody
understands their responsibilities," explained Smith.
 Brownfield added, "Commands and contractors are
required by instruction, to have a designated hazard-
ous waste coordinator participate in the weekly site
inspection by an inspector such as myself or Jody Smith.
Coordinators are responsible for making sure each
assigned hazardous waste container is turned in before its
expiration date."


NAS Jax Assistant Hazardous Waste Manager Billie
Brownfield checks a garbage can in HSM-70's hangar to make
sure there is nothing hazardous being thrown in with regular
trash.







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