governments  to  create  and  maintain  conditions  where man and nature can exist together. The  Navy’s  environmental  quality  program  is  the Environmental   and   Natural   Resources   Program Manual, OPNAVINST 5090.1. It contains guidelines to prevent, control, and abate air and water pollution. In general, we must ensure that all facilities, including ships,  aircraft,  shore  activities,  and  vehicles,  are designed, operated, and maintained to conform with standards set forth in the 1970 and 1979 acts. The following  paragraphs  cover  the  most  important requirements  of  the  instruction. Shore activities will use municipal and regional waste   collection   and   disposal   systems   whenever possible. We will handle all materials such as solid fuels,  petroleum  products,  and  chemicals  in  ways  that prevent or minimize pollution of the air and water. We will  reprocess,  reclaim,  and  reuse  waste  material whenever  feasible.  Ships  will  use  port  disposal  facilities for all waste before they get underway and when they return to port. We will not discharge oil products within any prohibited zone, and we will not discharge trash and garbage within 12 miles of shore. We will normally burn  waste  material  in  open  fires.  We  will  not  use sinking agents and dispersants to fight oil spills except when there is a substantial fire hazard or danger to human  life. To meet the requirements of the Clean Air and Water   Quality   Improvement   Acts,   the   Navy   has instituted several ongoing programs. Some of them are in  operation  and  others  are  being  tested  and  evaluated. For  example,  we  now  operate  completely  enclosed firefighting training facilities from which no smoke escapes.  Aboard  ship,  we  have  shifted  from  Navy standard  fuel  oil  to  distillate,  which  reduces  air pollution because it has a low sulfur content and burns more  cleanly  than  standard  fuel  oil.  We  are  now evaluating  several  models  of  self-contained  shipboard sanitary treatment systems that eliminate the discharge of  polluted  sewage. You can see that the Navy is using time, money, and effort to reduce environmental pollution. To support that policy, you should closely supervise all operations that involve fuel handling, waste disposal, and the use and disposal of toxic materials. Indoctrinate personnel on the causes of pollution and the necessity to reduce it. Be sure personnel under your supervision comply with regulations  and  operating  procedures  for  pollution control  devices. In  the  rest  of  this  chapter,  we’ll  cover  the procedures and facilities we use to help improve the environment. PREVENTING OIL SPILLS The   preferred   method   to   reduce   and   control environmental  pollution  is  to  prevent  the  pollution.  We must  integrate  prevention  measures  into  any  planned industrial process, operation, or product as part of the cost  of  daily  operations.  The  following  paragraphs discuss ways to prevent pollution caused by oil spills. Before you start any fueling, defueling, or internal transfer  operation,  check  all  machinery  and  piping systems  for  tightness  and  for  signs  of  leaking  glands, seals, and gaskets. When you change oil or add oil to machinery, take care not to spill the oil into the bilge. Keep a drip pan and rags ready for use if needed. Keep a close watch on centrifugal purifiers when they are in operation to make sure they do not lose the water seal and dump the oil into the bilge or contaminated oil tank. When you deballast, keep a careful watch on the overboard discharge to make sure that no oil is pumped overboard with the water from the ballast tanks. Pump all oily waste from tank cleaning operations into a sludge barge. Control of shipboard oil pollution is complicated by the many and varied sources of oily waste. The Navy is incorporating  oil  pollution  control  systems  and components into its ships that will reduce oil pollution by the following means: 1. 2. 3 . . 4. 5. Reduce the generation of oily waste. Store  waste  oil  and  oily  waste. Monitor oil and oily waste. Transfer  or  offload  waste  oil  and  oily  waste  to shore  facilities. Process oily waste. The  training  officer  must  ensure  that  formal training is provided to key personnel who maintain and operate  pollution  control  equipment.  The  training officer  is  responsible  for  training  that  achieves  an acceptable  level  of  expertise. Figure 6-1 shows a schematic diagram of a typical shipboard oil pollution control system. As  a  supervisor,  you  should  be  sure  that  all engineering personnel are familiar with the sources of oil  spills  and  oil  waste  that  may  cause  pollution.  The 6-2