INTRODUCTION
Environmental
health and safety (EHS or HSE or SHE) is the department in a company or an
organization involved in environmental protection, safety at work, occupational
health and safety, compliance and best practices. EHS aims to prevent and
reduce accidents, emergencies and health issues at work.
Oil companies are feeling
more and more pressure to reduce environmental pollution caused by their
services or production processes, and reduce accidents in the workplaces
ensuring better health of their employees and the third parties. Some of these
compulsions are required by law, demanded by their customers, or the owner’s
aspirations for higher quality production. EHS ensures a systematic method of
prevention of accidents and emergencies including fire, solid or liquid waste
management, reduction of environmental footprints and use of carbon energy,
improving safety and health of the workers, employee ergonomics and confirming
a risk free workplace. EHS also aims to prevent workers from suffering from
occupational diseases.
Formation of the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the 1970s initiated the requirement of
environmental management. Soon after it was followed by other regulatory
systems at the state levels. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970,
required many other compliances for the industries to protect employees. In the
1990s the EHS started functioning at the company level. Professionals were
required to reassess and redesign the production processes to become more
eco-friendly and health risk free. ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 have set standards
of EHS internationally.