Overview
ISO/TR 18159:2015 - Document management - Environmental and work place safety regulations affecting microfilm processors - is a Technical Report published by ISO in 2015. It explains environmental laws and workplace-safety requirements that specifically affect microfilm and photographic processing laboratories. The report helps organizations understand effluent characteristics, hazardous-waste obligations, employee safety training, and public-notification duties so they can achieve regulatory compliance and reduce environmental risk.
Key topics
The Technical Report covers practical technical and regulatory topics relevant to microfilm processors, including:
- Effluent management: pretreatment requirements, stream standards, equalization and holding tanks, septic/leach-field considerations, and example discharge limitations.
- Effluent characteristics: temperature, BOD/COD (oxygen demand), suspended solids, chlorine demand, pH and heavy metals (notably silver, chromium, zinc, cadmium), phenols, cyano and thiocyanate complexes, hydroquinone, ammonium, phosphates, detergents, oils, colour and odour, VOCs and flammables.
- Sampling and analysis: sampling techniques (grab, composite, continuous), sample handling and laboratory analysis best practices.
- Pollution prevention and process controls: squeegees, replenishment rates, good housekeeping, dilution/ equalization strategies.
- Silver recovery and disposal: recovery techniques, regulatory compliance and options for commercial disposal services.
- Hazardous-waste management: container storage, labelling, emergency contingency planning, land-disposal criteria, stormwater and air-pollution considerations.
- Workplace safety: employee training, hazard communication, ventilation guidelines and control of air emissions.
- Annexes with regional guidance: includes a discussion of the U.S. EPA Guidance Manual on local discharge limitations, sample Hazard Communication Programme (OSHA), and country-specific information for France and the UK.
Practical applications and users
ISO/TR 18159:2015 is practical for:
- Microfilm and photographic processing laboratory managers seeking to implement environmental controls and compliance programs.
- Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) officers responsible for hazardous-waste handling, employee training and emergency planning.
- Archivists and records-management professionals who operate in-house processing labs.
- Consultants and regulators evaluating discharge permits, silver recovery systems and air/waste controls.
The report aids in designing sampling programs, selecting silver recovery or disposal strategies, writing safety programs, and aligning local permits with processing operations.
Related standards
- ISO/TC 171 series (Document management applications) - for broader document-management context.
- National and regional regulations (EPA, OSHA, EU directives) - Annexes reference U.S. EPA guidance and national regulatory examples relevant to discharge limits and workplace safety.
Keywords: ISO/TR 18159:2015, microfilm processors, environmental regulations, effluent management, silver recovery, workplace safety, hazardous waste, discharge limits.