Respond to…
While working at a fast food place, I didn’t know how many laws they were breaking while working there, however, as I look back, I recall that we had the five-second rule. If a piece of food was dropped, we had five minutes to picked it up, we dipped in the fryer and it was perfectly fine to package it and give it to the customer. I knew it was wrong, however, I did as I was told. “FDA is responsible for the safety of food and any substance that is applied to the human body” ((EPA, 2018). The responsibility is to, protect the public health by making sure that food is safe. “The public health by assuring that foods (except for meat from livestock, poultry and some egg products which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are safe, wholesome, sanitary and properly labeled” (EPA, 2018). The business was not in compliance with the FDA, they eventually got a whistleblower, and the business was shut down.
I believe that environmental regulations help businesses be in compliance. If the business knows that they might get fined if a certain regulation is not followed, they will try their best to stay on top of it. In a way, I personally believe that it’s a good way to make sure businesses are doing what they are supported to do and follow the rules. In return, they will have peace of mind knowing that they are in compliance if an audit were to occur.
Reference
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2018, January 4). Laws & Regulations. Retrieved August 14, 2019, from http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs
Respond to…
Identify one environmental law that is relevant to your past, current, or future employer. Apply that law to a business situation created by that employer. How does (or did) that employer maintain compliance with that statute? Do you believe that environmental regulations help or hinder business? Why, or why not?
I currently work for an upstream oil and gas producer which means we locate and extract oil from the ground and then sell it to the pipeline. As you can assume we have an abundance of federal regulations that have to be followed so ensure everything is done in a safe manner for all parties involved. We also strive to ensure there is little to no contamination to the ground in which we are extracting from.
A particular regulation from the EPA is in regards to crude oil and natural gas waste. Legally the company has to dispose of any hazardous material or clean and reuse the material. One particular way is the waste water from fracing is able to be cleaned and reused without any impurities. Within the company there are specific safety and environmental departments that their job is to ensure we are following all regulations from the EPA. By having an internal check it allows for fewer errors in the field because there is constant checks and balances on the company’s practices.
https://www.epa.gov/hw/special-wastes#crude
