United States : The Huge Implications of the Eco-Public Health Connection.Byline: pinto03 Someone recently asked me if there was a public health angle to greening small businesses. After thinking it over, it became clear there is. First, when we talk about green we are also talking about issues of safety and health: Materials should foster healthy environments, current and future. This means avoiding toxic and dangerous chemicals. It means using an appropriate ventilation system ventilation system Public health An air system designed to maintain negative pressure and exhaust air properly, to minimize the spread of TB and other respiratory pathogens in a health care facility . It means projects should be well-built to minimize safety risks to the occupants (fire, collapse, etc.). It also means making larger ties between the products we buy and energy security, homeland and foreign security, and other issues of the day. Please keep in mind that there are 27 million small businesses in the US and consider these facts from the SBA SBA abbr. Small Business Administration Noun 1. SBA - an independent agency of the United States government that protects the interests of small businesses and ensures that they receive a fair share of government : Small businesses Employ just over half of U.S. workers. Of 119.9 million non-farm private sector workers in 2006, small firms with fewer than 500 workers employed 60.2 million and large firms employed 59.7 million. Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. I see three distinct public health implications: Public Health Implication #1: I have a case study in my new book that talks about greening that is recognized by the EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. and OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. as exemplary and that points out that quality, environmental, health, and safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities or processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. are all intertwined; a company that set and meets the highest health and safety standards is the surest route to profitability and competitiveness. The Ideal Jacobs Corporation, a commercial printing company in NJ, has been recognized by both the EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. agency established (1970) in the Dept. of Labor (see Labor, United States Department of) to develop and enforce regulations for the safety and health of workers in businesses that are engaged in interstate (OSHA) for environmental and social responsibility. One of a few, small independent manufacturers in the EPA s Performance Track program a program for companies with the best environmental management systems in the country. Says Andrew Jacobs Andrew Jacobs (February 22, 1906 - December 17, 1992) was a lawyer, judge, and Congressman for one term, in Indiana. His son, Andrew Jacobs, Jr. was also a Congressman. He attended the public schools near where he was born, in Gerald, Indiana, and later at St. , President: You can t get the best profits, you can t even compete worldwide unless you are the ultimate in making as little garbage as possible, having the least amount of it around so your people won t get sick, and being one of the safest you can be. So by being the best employer, you re also being the most profitable. Jacobs chose to focus on two high-impact areas of his business: solid waste and hazardous waste Hazardous waste Any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste materials that, if improperly managed or disposed of, may pose substantial hazards to human health and the environment. Every industrial country in the world has had problems with managing hazardous wastes. . After working through the EPA application twice , I realized the correlation between reducing solid waste and higher profit margins. It suddenly dawned on me: Of course, create less pollution and you ll have more end-product We invited in OSHA, which was unheard of at the time, says Jacobs. Copyright : Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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