YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- There is a saying: "Many hands make light work." With that in mind, U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan trains all civilian and military personnel on their Environmental Management System (EMS) so the entire community can pitch in and help protect the environment on and off post.
"EMS is designed to protect our environment and eco-system," said Chong-Pok Na, EMS coordinator at USAG Yongsan Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division. "We support regulatory requirements, minimize our impact from daily activities and services, and pursue continual improvements."
USAG Yongsan is committed to complying with all applicable environmental regulations, policies and directives and routinely practices good stewardship to protect the Korean land entrusted to the U.S. Army, and conserve the environment.
The garrison identifies five significant environmental aspects with the greatest potential environmentally adverse impacts. They are bulk fuel/chemical spill, storm water discharge, solid waste generation, hazardous waste generation and energy consumption.
It may seem like there is nothing average people can do to help the operation of EMS, however, experts from the environmental division emphasize that active participation from people living in the Garrison must take part in the EMS to successively manage our environment.
"One of the most important things is that all members living on the Garrison must be involved in the EMS and know what it is," said Dae-Sik Kim, EMS professional at Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division.
"It is beyond rules and regulations and it surely is applicable for everybody," said Bill Rogers, chief of Environmental Division Directorate of Public Works. Rogers added that everyone can participate in EMS by doing simple tasks.
"Reducing the operational footprint may sound complicated, but it actually is not," Rogers said. "Recycling, reporting any type of bulk fuel or chemical spill, turning off the lights and other electrical items when not being used, and closing the windows when the heater or air conditioning is on, are a few simple ways to help EMS."
For more information, contact DPW Environmental Division at DSN 724-6150, or visit http://www.sustainability.army.mil/tools/programtools_ems.cfm. Furthermore, EMS Awareness Training is available online at http://yongsan.korea.army.mil/Environmental.
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