HAZWOPER

Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER; /ˈhæzwɒpər/ HAZ-waw-pər) is a set of guidelines produced and maintained by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which regulates hazardous waste operations and emergency services in the United States and its territories.[1] With these guidelines, the U.S. government regulates hazardous wastes and dangerous goods from inception to disposal.

HAZWOPER applies to five groups of employers and their employees. This includes employees who are exposed (or potentially exposed) to hazardous substances (including hazardous waste) and who are engaged in one of the following operations as specified by OSHA regulations 1910.120(a)(1)(i-v) and 1926.65(a)(1)(i-v):[2]

The most commonly used manual for HAZWOPER activities is Department of Health and Human Services Publication 85–115, Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities.[3] Written for government contractors and first responders, the manual lists safety requirements for cleanups and emergency-response operations.

History

Although its acronym predates OSHA, HAZWOPER describes OSHA-required regulatory training. Its relevance dates to World War II, when waste accumulated during construction of the atomic bomb at the Hanford Site. Years later, high-profile environmental mishaps (such as Love Canal in 1978 and the attempted 1979 Valley of the Drums cleanup) spurred federal legislative action,[4] awakening the U.S. to the need to control and contain hazardous waste. Two programs—CERCLA, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976—were implemented to deal with these wastes. CERCLA (the Superfund) was designed to deal with existing waste sites, and RCRA addressed newly generated waste. The acronym HAZWOPER originally derived from the Department of Defense's Hazardous Waste Operations (HAZWOP), implemented on military bases slated for the disposal of hazardous waste left on-site after World War II. In 1989 production ended at the Hanford Site, and work shifted to the cleanup of portions of the site contaminated with hazardous substances including radionuclides and chemical waste.[5] OSHA created HAZWOPER, with input from the Coast Guard, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1984, the combined-agency effort resulted in the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Guidance Manual.[6] On March 6, 1990 OSHA published Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response 1910.120,[7] the HAZWOPER standard codifying the health-and-safety requirements companies must meet to perform hazardous-waste cleanup or respond to emergencies.

Scope

Hazardous waste, as defined by the standard, is a waste (or combination of wastes) according to 40 CFR §261.3 [8] or substances defined as hazardous wastes in 49 CFR §171.8.[9]

Training levels

OSHA recognizes several levels of training, based on the work the employee performs and the degree of hazard faced. Each level requires a training program, with OSHA-specified topics and minimum training time.

In some instances, training levels overlap; other levels are not authorized by OSHA because their training is not sufficiently specific.[10] A site safety supervisor (or officer) and a competent industrial hygienist or other technically qualified, HAZWOPER-trained person should be consulted.

Training and certification sources

OSHA-compliant sources for HAZWOPER training are available from community colleges, labor unions, employers and training companies. An employer must ensure that the training provider covers the areas of knowledge required by the standard and provides certification to students that they have passed the training. Since the certification is for the student, not the employer, the trainer must cover all aspects of HAZWOPER operations and not only those at the current site. OSHA training requires cleanup workers to focus on personal protective equipment separately from emergency-response equipment.[11] There are 4 levels of PPE that range from A-D that HAZWOPER training will cover that vary in skin, respiratory and eye protection. [12]

See also

References

  1. "Hazardous waste operations and emergency response. - 1910.120". osha.gov. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  2. "OSHA FAQs - HAZWOPER". osha.gov. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. "OS&H Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities". osha.gov. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  4. "NPL Site Narrative for A.L. Taylor (Valley of Drums)". United States Environmental Protection Agency. September 8, 1983. Retrieved October 12, 2013. EPA conducted emergency response activities in March 1979….
  5. "Hanford Overview and History - Hanford Site". hanford.gov. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  6. United States Department of Health and Human Services (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) (October 1985), Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities (PDF), p. 142, pub. no. 85-115, retrieved February 22, 2011
  7. 29 C.F.R. 1910.120
  8. "Identification and listing of hazardous waste". Code of Federal Regulations. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  9. "General information, regulations, and definitions". Code of Federal Regulations. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  10. Fairfax, Richard E. (April 28, 2008), Use of a "hybrid" course to meet training requirements for both a general site worker and a hazardous materials technician under HAZWOPER (letter to Robert E. Carson), retrieved October 12, 2013
  11. 29 C.F.R. 1910
  12. "General description and discussion of the levels of protection and protective gear.". OSHA.gov. 2015-08-24.

External links

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