What Is The Purpose Of Environmental Monitoring?

Believe it or not, the purposes of environmental monitoring are actually ten-fold in this day and age. It is vital for ensuring a business’s compliance with environmental regulations, for evaluating the progress of a cleanup, and for ensuring the health and safety of workers. So, what is the significance of monitoring being undertaken in our workplaces?

When a pollutant is accidentally discharged into the atmosphere (such as an overturned petrol tanker truck leaking fuel), the results on the environment and even humans can be catastrophic. Monitoring the progress of the cleanup, however, will allow the persons responsible to track the project and to get a good idea of what they will need to do to counter the effects.

Environmental monitoring is also vital in ensuring the health and safety of the workers who are charged with cleaning up the overturned tanker truck. They will be able to tell, for example, whether the atmosphere immediately around the tanker poses risks of explosion. When the okay is given, the workers are able to move in and begin the cleanup process in safety.

Likewise, environmental monitoring allows samples to be taken of the air during the cleanup process. Once these samples are analyzed, the results will enable the persons responsible for the accident to judge what sorts of long-term effects the fuel leak is going to have on the environment in that specific location. This will allow them to take steps towards lessening these effects (including evacuating residents and rehabilitation programs).