| Hierachy of Control
This is the Industral Hygiene Hierachy of Control
1. It is best to control hazards at source - removing hazardous substances is the most effective way.
2. Substitute substance for less hazardous alternative - eg fibreglass instead of asbestos. While there will never be a completely environmentally best way there are often better ways. The use of water based, instead of solvent based, paints is a good example. More on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
3. If subsitution difficult, Suppress substances.eg with curtain over spray drops, air flows over wood dust, or water jets to suppress coal dusts
4. If this is impossible, enclose next. An obvious example is noise - keep it inside an enclosure/box rather than let it deafen or annoy everybody.
5. Then ventilate - preferably through cleaners/scrubbers, and only after release to air. This is usually expensive and difficult to maintain.
Cleaner Production
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This hierachy is part of a broader environmmental principle called "Cleaner Production" The key difference between pollution control and cleaner production is timing. Pollution control is after-the-event, a 'react and treat' approach. Cleaner production is a forward-looking, 'anticipate and prevent' philosophy. Cleaner production according to UNEP is "the continuous use of industrial processes and products to increase efficiency, to prevent pollution of the air, water and land, to reduce wastes at source and to minimise risks to the human population and the environment". |
Improvements in your organisation and technology can help to reduce or suggest better choices in use of materials and energy, to avoid waste, waste water generation, and gaseous emissions, and also waste heat and noise. More on Cleaner Production & Cleaner Production in Dairy, Fish & Meat
NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards,
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DEVELOPING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS 
