NEBOSH EMC flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Environmental aspect

An element of an organisation's activities, products or services that interacts, or can interact, with the environment. Examples include emissions to air, discharges to water, waste generation and raw material consumption.

Environmental impact

Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partly resulting from an organisation's environmental aspects. Impacts are assessed against receptors such as air, water, land and communities.

Significant environmental aspect

An aspect that has or may have a significant environmental impact, determined using defined scored criteria and a threshold. Significant aspects drive objectives, operational controls and monitoring priorities.

ISO 14001 Plan-Do-Check-Act

The continual improvement cycle underlying an environmental management system: Plan sets aspects, legal register and objectives; Do implements controls; Check monitors and audits; Act covers management review and corrective action.

Environmental policy

A documented statement of top management's commitment to legal compliance, pollution prevention and continual improvement. It provides the framework for setting environmental objectives and must be communicated to all workers.

Legal register

A maintained record of all environmental legal and other requirements applicable to the organisation, such as permits, regulations and codes. It supports the evaluation of compliance and is reviewed for currency.

Evaluation of compliance

The periodic process of checking actual performance against the legal register and permit conditions, recording the result. Non-compliance identified must trigger corrective action and management review.

Precautionary principle

Where there is threat of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent degradation.

Polluter pays principle

The principle that the party responsible for causing pollution should bear the costs of preventing, controlling and remediating it, rather than passing those costs to the public or environment.

Brundtland sustainability definition

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It underpins the environmental, social and economic pillars of sustainability.

Waste management hierarchy

A preference order for waste: prevention first, then preparation for re-use, recycling, other recovery such as energy recovery, and disposal as the least preferred option.

Duty of care (waste)

The legal obligation to prevent waste escaping, store it securely, transfer it only to authorised persons, and keep accurate written descriptions and transfer documentation for the required retention period.

Scope 1 emissions

Direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organisation, such as fuel combustion in boilers and vehicles, process emissions and fugitive refrigerant leaks.

Scope 2 emissions

Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity, heat, steam or cooling consumed by the organisation. They are calculated from consumption data multiplied by a supplier or grid emission factor.

Scope 3 emissions

All other indirect emissions in the value chain, including purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commuting, transport and distribution, and product use and end-of-life treatment.

CO2 equivalent (CO2e)

A common unit expressing the warming effect of different greenhouse gases relative to carbon dioxide, using global warming potentials over a stated time horizon, usually one hundred years.

Emergency preparedness

Documented arrangements for responding to foreseeable incidents and emergencies, including assigned responsibilities, communication with authorities, periodic testing through drills, and review after incidents or exercises.

Management review

A top-management evaluation of the environmental management system at planned intervals, covering performance, compliance, audit results and changing circumstances, to decide on improvement and resources.

Aspect register

A structured list of an organisation's environmental aspects, usually organised by activity and location, recording associated impacts, operating state and the significance determination for each entry.

Normal operating state

Routine, intended conditions under which a process runs as designed. Aspects arising in normal operation include continuous emissions, energy use and routine waste generation from the activity.

Abnormal operating state

Foreseeable non-routine conditions such as start-up, shutdown, maintenance, cleaning and breakdowns. These often produce larger or different impacts than normal operation and must be assessed separately.

Emergency operating state

Unplanned events such as fire, spill, leak or explosion. Aspects are assessed for their worst credible consequence, and the findings feed emergency response plans and drills.

Significance scoring matrix

A tool that rates each aspect using defined criteria such as severity, likelihood, scale and legal status, producing a numerical score. A stated threshold separates significant from non-significant aspects.

Environmental receptor

A component of the environment that may be affected by an impact, such as air, surface water, groundwater, soil, wildlife, habitats, natural resources and the local community.

Life-cycle perspective

Considering environmental aspects across all stages of a product or service, from raw material extraction through production, transport, use and end-of-life disposal, rather than only on-site operations.

Control hierarchy

The order of preference for reducing environmental impact: eliminate or substitute, then engineering controls such as containment and treatment, then administrative controls and procedures, with personal protective equipment last.

Residual impact

The environmental impact remaining after proposed controls have been applied. Residual impacts are re-rated against the same criteria to confirm the aspect is managed to an acceptable level.

Objective evidence

Verifiable information showing that a requirement is met, such as meter readings, waste transfer notes, permits, monitoring results, inspection records, photographs and interview notes used in the practical assessment.

Impact risk rating

A rating calculated as likelihood multiplied by consequence, where consequence reflects magnitude, spatial extent, duration and receptor sensitivity. Ratings prioritise which impacts need control first.

Practical assessment scope

The defined boundary of the practical study: the site, activities, processes and time period assessed, stated clearly so that findings and conclusions can be judged against a known basis.

Prioritised recommendations

Proposed actions ranked by risk reduction and cost-effectiveness, each with an identified owner, resource and completion timescale, so the organisation can act on the practical assessment findings.