Airmen ready wing for environmental inspection Published June 29, 2007 By 2nd Lt. Jim Lambertsen 33d Fighter Wing Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- To prepare for the upcoming Environmental and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment Management Program Inspection, the 33d Fighter Wing held Amnesty Day June 27. Amnesty Day is a day set aside by the wing environmental office to collect any hazardous waste or materials and properly dispose of them prior to the EOHCAMP Inspection July 9-13. "It is fairly common to have old expired supplies or unlabeled materials that could be considered hazardous waste sitting around the shop, and we provide a safe way to properly dispose of these materials with no paperwork and no questions asked, very hassle free," said Master Sgt. Barry Woods, 33d FW Environmental Superintendent. "We get anything from old expired paint and lubricating oils to old batteries and light bulbs." Amnesty Day gives the wing the opportunity to safely dispose of any hazardous waste that may have been sitting in the corner and gathering dust and prevents the possibility of receiving an inspection infraction during the actual evaluation. During the inspection, a team of inspectors from Headquarters Air Force Material Command will arrive for a week to inspect and evaluate Eglin AFB on its adherence to environmental laws and regulations. "The inspection team consists of 38 inspectors, which include military members and civilian contractors," said Roy Penman, 33d FW Environmental Manager. "It is such a large inspection team because of the massive amount of inspection criteria that needs to be covered." The inspection is comprised of 13 protocols to include areas such as hazardous waste management, water quality, hazardous materials management and the recycling program. The EOHCAMP is as an external inspection because the inspectors are coming from HQ AFMC instead of an internal inspection where the inspectors are members of Eglin AFB. This type of inspection is conducted once every three years and on the years between external inspections, the Eglin Environmental Team conducts internal inspections. The internal inspections provide the wing a way to maintain a constant level of preparedness and be ready for any external inspections. "One of our weak areas discovered during our last internal inspection was lack of proper training; since then, this has been addressed and fixed," Sergeant Woods said. "Our Airmen have taken the required computer-based training and are prepared to answer questions should the inspectors ask." The environmental team at the 33d FW makes daily checks around the wing to ensure all hazardous materials are compliant with standards, properly stored and labeled. The wing's goal is to complete the inspection with zero major findings, which was achieved during the 2000 inspection.