Environmental Stewardship

It is Y‑12 policy to integrate principles of environmental protection into all facets of our operations. We are committed to conducting activities in a manner which protects the public and the environment, prevents pollution, complies with applicable regulations, and continuously improves our management systems.

To further our commitment to environmentally responsible operations, we have integrated the elements of the international standard ISO 14001 Environmental Management System into our Integrated Safety Management System. The ISO 14001 model provides a widely recognized set of principles and standards for integrating environmental considerations into daily operations.

The EMS ensures that environmental aspects of Y‑12 operations are systematically identified, controlled, and monitored. Moreover, an EMS provides mechanisms for setting environmental objectives and targets, responding to changing environmental conditions and requirements, reporting on environmental performance, developing action plans, and prioritizing how we allocate resources to continually improve our environmental management.

All Y‑12 staff and contractors have a role in achieving our policy commitments and implementing our EMS. Our National Nuclear Security Administration customer expects adherence to these commitments. The annual evaluation of our company performance will consider our progress toward our environmental goals and adherence to this policy, and we invite all interested parties to provide input on our performance.