Hazardous Waste Operations

EAPs are plans that have at minimum the following elements alarms systems, evacuation plan, a mechanism or procedure for emergency shutdown of the equipment, and a procedure for notifying emergency response personnel. 

The acronym HAZWOPER is often used when referring to OSHA s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standard. The standard covers two important parts 

Barge ran agrounds in Natticoke River near Chrisfield, Maryland 

Gasoline leaked from a facility in Los Angeles, California 

Diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel leaking from a pipeline in Elmira, California 

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Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER)... 

Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. In response to an EPA mandate in SARA, Ha2ardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) regulations were issued. These address emergency responders, training of those working at Superfund sites, and cleanup operations. 

HAZVVOPER Hazardous waste operators TOC Total organic carbon... 

Hazardous Waste Operations And Emergency Response (HAZWOPER)—29 CER 1910.120... 

Does the aetivity inherently expose workers to hazardous substanees, or to health and safety hazards from a hazardous waste operation ... 

HAZWOPER applies only where exposure to hazardous substanees or to health and safety hazards resulting from a hazardous waste operation is likely (see Eigure 2-1). This ean be determined by analysis of exposure monitoring data, hazard eharaeterization, hazard analysis, or exposure assessment [1]. Some of the speeifle examples of work aetivi-ties and situations will be eovered later. 

Safety hazards are treated in the same manner. For example, workers who work in trenches in clean areas of the site would be covered by the OSHA Excavation and Trenching Standard, Subpart P, 29 CFR 1926. Workers who work in trenches in contaminated areas would fall under both Subpart P and HAZWOPER. Workers who do not work in trenches fall under HAZWOPER only when working in contaminated areas and would not be covered by either standard when working solely in clean areas, provided they are not exposed to safety hazards resulting from hazardous waste operations. 

If the area and eorridor ean be maintained free of safety hazards arising from the hazardous waste operation, the work probably would not fall under the requirements. In this ease, the area and eorridor would eonstitute a temporary support zone. Beeause the work involves eleetri-eal utilities, it would fall under the most proteetive standard of praetiee, sueh as OSHA s Eleetrieal Standard or the National Eleetrie Code (NEC). Also, there may be other requirements that apply. Administrative eontrols sueh as HAZWOPER-trained eseorts are used to make eertain that the utility workers are not exposed to any hazards from the operation. The proeedures to be followed are doeumented in the site-speeifie HASP [1]. 

Two years of health and safety field experienee, ineluding hazardous waste operations, or equivalent, and demonstrated ability to implement a HASP... 

Hazardous waste operations often include tasks and activities that are conducted on a periodic basis, are of very short duration, are transient in nature, or otherwise pose little hazard. Developing a brief HASP template (e.g., fill in the blank ), a permit, or a checklist system that includes essential HAZWOPER-type information may suffice for these types of operations. 

Normal work elothes are appropriate for the support zone. PPE worn for the hazardous waste work should remain in the CRZ/C. At some point, this PPE will be deeontaminated or paekaged for transport and disposal or deeontamination. Separate support zone faeilities may not be needed where site faeilities are readily available and near to the worksite, and if elose eommunieation is maintained. Eor multiple hazardous waste operations eondueted in elose proximity, it is possible to design one support zone to serve several operations. This will depend on the logisties of the projeet. 

Employers are required to develop and implement a program to inform workers performing hazardous waste operations of the level and degree of exposure they are likely to eneounter. This information needs... 

Other sites provided general provisions for acceptable training programs but lacked the site-specific detail necessary to implement a successful program. Eor example, the contractor s plan at Site E contained a requirement that all project field personnel receive training in accordance with applicable OSHA standards, including a minimum of 40 hours of hazardous waste operations training. The plan did not contain,... 

Employees reeeive training before they are permitted to engage in hazardous waste operations [OSHA Referenee. 120(e)(1)]... 

All employees who are injured, beeome ill or develop signs or symptoms due to possible overexposure involving hazardous substanees or health hazards from an emergeney response or hazardous waste operation and [OSHA Referenee. 120(f)(1), (f)(2)(iii)]... 

The physician s opinion as to whether the employee has any detected medical conditions which would place the employee at increased risk of material impairment of the employee s health from work in hazardous waste operations or a emergency response, or from respirator use [OSHA Reference, 120(f)(7)(i)(A)]... 

OSHA s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) legislation protects workers who respond to emergencies, such as serious spills, involving hazardous materials. It also covers those employed in cleanup operations at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites and at EPA-licensed waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. 

RCRA cleanup activities and hazardous waste operations at generator facilities and TSDFs may need to comply with HAZWOPER regulations... 

The mission of the OSHA is to save lives, prevent injuries, and protect the health of employees in the workplace.25 OSHA accomplishes these goals through several regulatory requirements including the hazard communication standard (HCS) and the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Worker Protection Standard (HAZWOPER). 

Hazardous waste operations and emergency response worker protection standard... 

A third type of emergency response plan required for implementation in selected (covered) facilities is OSHA s 29 CFR 1910.120 (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response—HAZWOPER) for releases of hazardous materials. Unless the facility operator can demonstrate that the operation does not involve employee exposure or the reasonable possibility for employee exposure to safety or health hazards, the following operations are covered ... 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 1987. Occupational safety and health standard 29 CFR 1910.120 Hazardous waste operations and emergency response, www.osha. gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show document p table=STANDARDS p id=9765. 

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