HQ PACAF Assessment Team to visit Yokota in August

  • Published
  • By 374th Civil Engineer Squadron Enviromental Element
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  From August 2-6 a team of 20 assessors from HQ PACAF will visit Yokota Air Base to complete an Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Program, or ESOHCAMP, assessment.

ESOHCAMP is a formal process designed to evaluate a base's compliance with environmental, safety and occupational health regulations, instructions and policies.

The goal of the ESOHCAMP is to identify problems and correct them before injuries, environmental impacts or regulatory violations take place. The process benefits Airmen by helping ensure they are working in a safe and healthy environment, by validating existing programs and lending support to requests for resources.

The PACAF team of assessors will kick-off the ESOHCAMP by giving an in-brief to the 374th Airlift Wing commander. During the assessment, the team members will select a wide range of Air Force and tenant organization facilities to visit, as well as visit geographically separated units like Tama Service Annex. They will interview shop supervisors and workers and review shop awareness of ESOH programs, documentation, training records, and reporting requirements.

The protocols that will be evaluated include air emissions, cultural resources, hazardous waste, hazardous materials, water quality, solid waste, wastewater, natural resources, pesticides, petroleum, oil and lubricants, storage tanks, toxic substances, blood borne pathogens, confined space entry, ionizing radiation, hazardous communication, laboratory practices and other issues involving radon, polychlorinated biphenyls and asbestos. As you can see this wide-ranging assessment will touch virtually every member of Team Yokota.

Part of the assessors focus will be identifying underlying root causes of the findings, and making recommendations on how to correct them. They will document instances of non-compliance, as well as identify individuals or organizations that are exceeding best practices and can serve as role models for other units. When the week is over the team will provide an out-brief to everyone involved in the assessment.

ESOHCAMP provides the most comprehensive assessment of compliance with environmental, safety, and occupational health regulations ever attempted in the Air Force. It has no doubt reduced the number of worker injuries, increased awareness of occupational health issues and prevented adverse environmental impacts. Every Airman's awareness and participation is essential in finding safer, more cost effective and environmentally friendly ways of completing the mission.

For information on how your unit can prepare, talk to your Group or Unit Environmental Coordinator or visit the 374 CES/CEAN SharePoint site and click the link on the left side of the page for CEAN's Community of Practice (CoP) website.