Integrated Life-Cycle Hazardous Material Management: A Logistics Imperative for USAREUR and the 7th Army

This report examines the benefit to be gained by integrating traditional pharmacy business practices in the existing supply system rather than building a parallel system for hazardous material/hazardous waste (HM/HW) management. The study evaluates the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) logistics system, its inherent life-cycle management processes, and its ability to support proven HM/HW management and environmental pollution prevention principles. The goal was to blueprint the current system and examine the potential for building improved HM/HW management into the Army logistics system rather than grafting management schemes external to the logistic system for HM/HW management. The findings are that increased HM requisitioning and stockage controls are key to addressing most USAREUR HM management issues. In large part, this includes taking steps to integrate business practices to the maximum extent practicable, while continuing to evaluate ongoing traditional pharmacy implementation initiatives in consideration of business practice integration results. The study suggests that the ultimate objective should be to manage HM/HW throughout their entire life cycle as a fully integrated program, under the lead of a single agency-ideally one from the logistics community.