Significant Aspects

EPA Region 9's EMS Team, with input from other employees, has developed a list of activities/products/services and their associated environmental aspects. Based on a comprehensive list of all aspects, the EMS Team has rated and ranked four Significant Aspects of EPA's Pacific Southwest Regional Office.

The team used a ranking system that included The Natural Step criteria . An aspect is designated as "significant" when it is determined to have a significant potential impact to the environment or an organization. EPA will set objectives and targets in the EMS for all significant aspects.

The Significant Aspects, and associated impacts, identified for the EPA Pacific Southwest Region 9 Office are:

Significant Aspect	Impact
Air Emissions - fossil fuel use - VOCs	Air Pollution Depletion of natural resources (fossil fuel)
Energy Use - electricity use	Depletion of natural resource (fossil fuel) Air pollution (during generation)
Material Use - paper use - chemical use	Use of natural resource (trees, fossil fuels, chemicals) Depletion of habitat
Waste - solid waste	Contamination of land Water pollution (from leaching)

View the complete inventory of aspects in EPA's Regional Office.

After identifying significant aspects, the next step was to establish Objectives and Targets to reduce their impact on the environment.

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Significant Aspects

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