ABSTRACT
Components and parts manufacturing takes place in a highly regulated world. Environmental regulations o¨en provide con¬icting requirements to the manufacturing community. We presented results of a study concerning U.S. regulations and comparing federal, state, and local environmental regulations (Kanegsberg and Kanegsberg, 2003). Even within the United States, and even considering environmental regulations in the absence of worker safety rules and provisos, there was substantial ambiguity. If anything, the trend toward confusing rules has increased during the past decade. Manufacturers may be le¨ with few, if any, valid options, and many are le¨ in a Catch-22 situation. With the globalization of manufacturing, this problem has become even more acute. Companies attempt to become more productive with fewer resources, and so do regulatory agencies. ¢is means that agencies increasingly operate with blinders on; they address the immediate concern without understanding the impact of their rules on other requirements. ¢e people involved may not have su¡cient time to fully research the impacts of what they propose. For example, agencies involved with worker safety may impel the use of ventilation in processes where environmental regulations do not allow ventilation. Individual companies may be le¨ with few viable options; they may be faced with using respirators, investing in engineering controls, or changing the process. We should be optimizing worker protection, neighborhood protection, and environmental protection.
