introduction to occupational safety health: hazardous waste operations and emergency response hazwoper

1. Introduction to Occupational Safety & Health: Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) Andrew Burgie, M.S.

2. Presentation Overview Basic Concepts in Protecting Worker Health & Safety Hazardous Waste Legislation HAZWOPER Courses Questions and Comments

3. Basic Concepts in Protecting Worker Health & Safety Health & Safety Standards & Terminology OSHA Regulation “General Duty Clause”

4. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) - Labor Covers only private employers State may have public employee version of OSHA standard as long as it is “at least as stringent” as the federal standard OSHA’s facility inspection program can be random, planned, complaint-driven, by referral, or accident-driven Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) are the legally enforceable exposure limits used

5. Standard Definitions OSHA PELs : Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limits Employee exposed for 8 hours/day; 40 hours/week; until retirement without experiencing adverse health effects Legally enforceable exposure limits

6. OSHA General Duty Clause “Employee has right to safe and healthy workplace” Employer must provide safe & healthy workplace Employee must abide by rules and regulations insuring a safe & healthy workplace

7. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Important document that explains how to protect a worker against the physical and chemical properties of a substance used at work. The document shall identify: Substance Name and Hazardous Ingredients Physical Properties and Fire and Explosion Data Substance Stability Short and Long Term Health Hazard Data Proper Use and Handling of Substance Proper Protective Clothing to be Worn by Worker

8. Hazardous Waste Legislation

9. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Controlled Waste RCRA - Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (1976) Waste treatment was addressed from “cradle to grave” (waste creation to final disposal) Only applies to active facilities and future facilities and does not address abandoned or historical waste sites

10. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Uncontrolled Waste CERCLA – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (1980) Chemical companies were taxed and that money was put into a “Superfund” to clean up abandoned waste sites “Hazard Ranking System (HRS)” was developed to rank abandoned waste sites from “most dangerous to least dangerous” “HRS” resulted in National Priorities List

11. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Uncontrolled Waste SARA – Superfund Amendments & Reauthorization Act (1985) Extended CERCLA’s authority to address waste Community Right-to-Know enabled public to identify neighborhood industrial properties that generate hazardous materials Toxic Release Inventories enabled public to identify neighborhood industrial properties that released hazardous materials into air, soil and water www.epa.gov/tri

12. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) - Labor “HAZWOPER” – Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (1989) Requires health and safety training for persons managing hazardous materials

13. HAZWOPER Course Examples

14. HAZWOPER Training Courses HAZWOPER Worker – 40 Hours (initial training) Additional 3 days on-site training after course HAZWOPER Refresher – 8 Hours (annual training) HAZWOPER Supervisor – 8 Hours Specialized Sites (RCRA TSD) – 24 Hours Emergency Response (Specialized Trainings) Awareness - 8 Hours Operations - 8 Hours Technician - 24 Hours Specialist - 24 Hours On-Scene Incident Command - 8 Hours

15. HAZWOPER – Training Highlights Hazard Recognition, Evaluation, & Control Site Characterization & Analysis Site Control Engineering Controls, Work Practices, etc. Monitoring of Site and Personnel Handling of Hazardous Waste Containers Decontamination Procedures Emergency Response

16. HAZWOPER – Hazard Recognition How can you recognize hazards? What Types of Hazards Exist? What Threats are Posed by Careless Disposal? When Is It Hazardous Waste? DOT Emergency Response Guidebook

17. What Types of Hazards Exist? Chemical Hazards (corrosive, ignitable, toxic, reactive, etc.) Biological Hazards (bacteria, viruses, fungi) Physical Hazards (heat, noise, radiation) Safety Hazards (slips, trips, falls) Ergonomic Hazards (repetitive stress injuries)

18. Threats Posed by Careless Disposal Direct Contact Hazardous chemical spill on skin Fire and/or Explosions Oil tanker on fire on highway Poison via the Food Chain Eating fish contaminated with mercury

19. Threats Posed by Careless Disposal Air Pollution Breathing in vehicle fumes or smog Surface Water Contamination A factory dumpling chemicals in a river (PCBs) Groundwater Contamination A large dry cleaner spilling chemicals into the ground

20. Hazardous Materials Spill /Leak

21. “Superfund” Site

22. When Is It Hazardous Waste? If & When hazardous substances (defined as ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic materials) are discarded or intended to be discarded such as: Non-usable commercial chemical products Used oil from car repair shop Contaminated soil, water, or other debris from chemical spill cleanup Oil spill in ocean from oil tanker

23. 2004 Emergency Response Guidebook – Hazard ID

24. Department of Transportation Vehicle Placards – Hazard ID

25. HAZWOPER – Hazard Evaluation How can you evaluate hazards? Monitoring of Site and Personnel Air, soil, and water monitoring Worker exposure monitoring

26. Direct-Reading Devices for Air

27. Direct-Reading Devices for Air

28. HAZWOPER – Hazard Control How can you control hazards? Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Protective Clothing (suits, gloves, boots, etc.) Respiratory Protective Equipment Remediation Technologies (site-specific)

29. Protective Clothing - Suits

30. Protective Equipment - Respiratory

31. Remediation Technologies Chemical Neutralization, Precipitation Oxidation Reduction Ion Exchange Disinfection Physical Screening, Sedimentation Filtration Stripping, Air and Steam Biological Aerobic Anaerobic

32. Remediation Technologies

33. Remediation Technologies

34. Hazardous Site Conversion

35. CONCLUSION QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION _____________________________________ ANDREW BURGIE, M.S. Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at Hunter College