Chenega IT Enterprise Services (CITES) wants to spotlight their Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Paper Processing Center team for doing such a great job maintaining critical environmental health documents.
CITES has 80 team members on this five-year contract who enjoy making a difference through their work. Under this contract, the team members are responsible for capturing and validating electronic images of Hazardous Waste Manifest Forms for the EPA Paper Processing Center, including the continuation sheet for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Support for user registration for the e-Manifest application, including retrieval, data entry, and validation of the standard Hazardous Waste Manifest Forms. The process involves electronic retrieval of uploaded manifests, reviewing manifests, entering manifest data, correcting/resolving issues, and validating and releasing manifest documents into an Electronic Document Management (EDMS) repository.
So, what is PCB, and why do we need to keep track of it? Polychlorinated biphenyls are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds formerly
used in industrial and consumer products like coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, fluorescent lighting fixtures, microscope oil, hydraulic fluids, and other electrical equipment. PCB production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001 because these chemicals harm human and environmental health. No specific treatment exists for PCB accumulation, which is why the CITES team has such an important job.
“The entire team deserves congratulations on your dedication and success in processing over 7,000 manifests the week of 5/18/2023-5/24/2023. As manifests increase, you continue to do a great job! Thank you so much! Only through your continued commitment and determination could we achieve this success. This accomplishment is truly commendable,” said Senior Program Manager Kendall Davis-Williams.
When asked what three words he would use to describe the team, he said committed, dedicated, and empowered. Before COVID, the team enjoyed bonding through potlucks in the office and other team morale boosters.
Keep up the great work, and thank you for helping make our environment a safer place!