1.1 Introduction

MIT has a comprehensive and integrated Environment, Health, and Safety Management System (EHS-MS) that is sustainable for the long term within our academic research setting. A highly collaborative effort that draws on the leadership and expertise of faculty, researchers, students, administrators, and staff, the EHS Management System helped to reshape how all members of the MIT community view their environment, health, and safety responsibilities, carry out MIT's comprehensive and integrated environmental commitment in their day-to-day activities, and assess MIT's performance against our goals.

A Systems Approach

By creating a well-defined and structured EHS Management System embedded in the daily activities of the Institute, MIT has built an infrastructure that ensures long-term success and sustainability in meeting and surpassing its environment, health and safety obligations. Each component of the EHS Management System is designed to work interdependently in an integrated fashion that continually reinforces the common objective of improving EHS performance.

To ensure the organizational sustainability of the EHS Management System, all components of the Management System, such as Policy and Objectives, Planning, Training, and Inspections have been designed and established as formal systems, integrated into on-going academic and facilities operations, and evaluated on a regular basis to identify areas for continual improvement. It is these core systematic components that act both independently and cooperatively to form the backbone of the EHS Management System.

One of the central principles of this system and our EHS Policy is the commitment to reflect our long held values of excellence not only in our research and teaching, but also in our operations. This management system provides improved institutional capacity and accountability for achieving and maintaining compliance with MIT's high standards for EHS performance, and federal, state, and local EHS regulations in MIT's departments, laboratories, and centers (DLCs), while simultaneously retaining the independence of research and teaching. The EHS-MS also creates a more sustainable campus by encouraging the incorporation of positive initiatives into activities, such as reducing wastes and toxic materials, preventing pollution, and conserving and reusing resources. One of the defining features of MIT's EHS-MS is to integrate regulatory compliance with positive initiatives and educational programs in a decentralized academic research setting.

The EHS-MS operates in tandem with MIT's existing policies and procedures. This management system includes and implements MIT's EHS Policy which has the full authorization, approval and support of the MIT Academic Council, our highest policy-making council convened by the President and comprising the Institute's senior officers. MIT senior management has established and is committed to maintaining the EHS-MS.

This Manual describes the elements of MIT's EHS-MS; the established policies and procedures that MIT follows to meet applicable environment, health and safety performance and legal requirements; and policies and procedures to comply with other requirements to which MIT voluntarily subscribes.