Depending on the activities being conducted and the
hazards present, response activities at worksites may be considered "emergency
response" activities under OSHA's
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency
Response (HAZWOPER) standard, 29 CFR 1910.120 and 1926.65. In addition, cleanup
sites may be considered or may become hazardous waste sites, requiring specific
training and control measures, if certain criteria apply. Furthermore, if
HAZWOPER conflicts or overlaps with any other OSHA standard, the provision more
protective of employee safety and health must be followed (e.g.,
Hazard Communication, 29 CFR 1910.1200 and 1926.59,
Bloodborne Pathogens, 29 CFR
1910.1030,
Permit-Required Confined Spaces, 29 CFR 1910.146, and other OSHA
expanded health standards under
Subpart Z).
This document explains the conditions in which a response or cleanup activity
may fall under the requirements of HAZWOPER.
|
This document is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal
obligations. This document is advisory in nature, informational in content, and
is intended to assist employers in providing a safe and healthful workplace.
Pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers must comply with
hazard-specific safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA or by a state
with an OSHA-approved state plan. In addition, pursuant to Section 5(a)(1), the
General Duty Clause of the Act, employers must provide their employees with a
workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical
harm. Employers can be cited for violating the General Duty Clause if there is a
recognized hazard and they do not take reasonable steps to prevent or abate the
hazard. However, failure to implement any recommendations in this Safety and
Health Information Bulletin is not, in itself, a violation of the General Duty
Clause. Citations can only be based on standards, regulations, and the General
Duty Clause. |
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
If OSHA considers a worksite response activity a "HAZWOPER Emergency Response,"
then employers with employees at the site performing emergency response must
comply with HAZWOPER paragraph (q) and all other
General Industry (1910) or
Construction Industry (1926) standards. The term "emergency response" has a very
specific meaning and application under HAZWOPER. Employers often apply this term
to any activity requiring immediate attention. However, under HAZWOPER this term
applies specifically to response activities where there is an uncontrolled
release of a hazardous substance, as defined by HAZWOPER in paragraph (a)(3), or
where an uncontrolled release is likely.
When the following conditions, or similar conditions, may develop as a
consequence of a release of hazardous substances or threat of release, such
situations would be considered emergency situations requiring an emergency
response effort:
- High concentrations of toxic substances.
- Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) environments.
- Situations that present an oxygen deficient atmosphere.
- Conditions that pose a fire or explosion hazard.
- Situations that require an evacuation of the area.
- Situations that require immediate attention because of the danger posed to
employees in the area.
As shown in Figure 1, response activities at worksites may be considered
"emergency response" activities, if these conditions apply.
NOTE: The HAZWOPER standard does not cover the inevitable release of a hazardous
substance that is limited in quantity, exposure potential, or toxicity, and
poses no emergency or significant threat to the safety and health of employees
in the immediate vicinity or to the employee cleaning it up. These incidental
releases also do not have the potential to become emergencies within a short
time frame. For example, an incidental release may include a spill at a tanker
truck loading station in which the product can be contained by employees in the
immediate vicinity and cleaned up utilizing absorbent without posing a threat to
the safety and health of employees. Conversely, a release of chlorine gas that
is immediately dangerous to life and health, obscuring visibility, and moving
through a facility would require an emergency response under HAZWOPER. Although
HAZWOPER may not apply to incidental releases, other OSHA standards may apply
such as Hazard Communication, 29 CFR 1910.1200. Furthermore, the employer must
provide the appropriate training and necessary personal protective equipment (PPE
) in order to minimize the risks to employees when they are expected to handle
incidental releases. Appendix E of
OSHA Instruction CPL 02-02-059 provides more
information regarding how to differentiate between incidental releases from
those that require HAZWOPER emergency responses.
CLEANUP
A cleanup operation at a worksite may also fall under the requirements of the
HAZWOPER standard. This may occur as a Post-Emergency Response Cleanup Operation
as shown in Figure 1, or as a completely separate Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup
Operation as shown in Figure 2. Again, there are specific conditions that must
be met and those conditions are explained in the following sections and
illustrated in the figures.
Figure 1. Emergency Response and Post-Emergency Response Cleanup Operations
[Text Version]
*Hazardous substance means any substance designated or listed under (A) through
(D) of this definition, exposure to which results or may result in adverse
effects on the health or safety of employees.
[A] Any substance defined under section 101(14) of CERCLA.
[B] Any biologic agent and other disease-causing agent which after release into
the environment and upon exposure., ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into
any person, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion
through food chains, will or may reasonably be anticipated to cause death,
disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutation, physiological
malfunctions (including malfunction in reproduction) or physical deformation in
such person or their offspring.
[C] Any substance listed by the U.S. Department of Transportation as hazardous
materials under 49 CFR 172.101 and appendices; and
[D] Hazardous waste as herein defined.
Hazardous waste means —
[A] A waste or combination of wastes as defined in 40 CFR 261.3, or
[B] Those substances defined as hazardous wastes in 49 CFR 171.8.
Text version of flowchart:
| Does OSHA consider your
response to be a "HAZWOPER emergency response?" |
|
|
EMERGENCY RESPONSE |
|
| |
|
| YES, if your response
operations involve the releases of or potential releases of hazardous
substances.* |
|
|
V |
<----------------------------------> |
| NO, if your response
operations do not involve the releases of or potential releases of hazardous
substances. |
|
|
V |
If OSHA considers your
response a "HAZWOPER emergency response," then you must comply with:
- HAZWOPER paragraph (q) and
- all other General Industry (1910) or Construction Industry (1926)
standards. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V
POST-EMERGENCY RESPONSE CLEANUP OPERATIONS
(per 1910.120(q)(11))
| Will the cleanup operations
be done on plant property using plant employees? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| If OSHA
does not consider your
response a "HAZWOPER emergency response," then you must comply
with all other applicable General Industry (1910) or Construction (1926)
standards. |
|
V
| Even if OSHA
does not consider your response a "HAZWOPER emergency response," your
worksite could be considered by OSHA to be a hazardous waste site requiring
HAZWOPER compliance. See "Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Operations" on the
next page. |
|
NO
-----------> |
You must comply
with:
- HAZWOPER paragraphs (b)-(o) and
- all other applicable General Industry (1910) or Construction Industry
(1926) standards. |
|
|
|
| YES
|------------------------->
|
| Workers do not
have to meet HAZWOPER paragraphs (b)-(o), however, they must have
completed training requirements of 1910.38, 1910.135, 1910.120, and other
appropriate safety and health standards. |
|
|
|
POST-EMERGENCY RESPONSE CLEANUP OPERATION
Upon completion of an emergency response, any subsequent cleanup involving
hazardous substances must be performed in accordance with sections (b) through
(o) of the HAZWOPER standard. If, however, the employees conducting the cleanup
operations are employees of the plant property where the work is being
performed, those employees may be trained according to OSHA's
Emergency Action Plan standard, 29 CFR 1910.38 and 1926.35, OSHA's
Respiratory Protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.134 and 1926.103, Hazard Communication standard, 29 CFR
1910.1200, and other appropriate safety and health training in lieu of complying
with HAZWOPER (b)-(o).
HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE CLEANUP OPERATIONS
Even if the cleanup activity did not originate from an "emergency response"
effort, the activity may fall under HAZWOPER as a hazardous waste site cleanup
operation (Figure 2). A site is considered a hazardous waste site if it is:
- Identified or listed by a government agency as an uncontrolled hazardous waste
site.
- Listed or proposed for listing on the National Priority List (NPL).
- Listed or proposed for listing on a State priority list.
- Regulated as a corrective action covered by the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Figure 2. Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Operations
[Text Version]
Text version of flowchart:
| HAZARDOUS WASTE
SITE CLEANUP OPERATIONS |
| Does
OSHA consider your worksite a hazardous waste site? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
YES, if your worksite is
ANY of the following:
- Listed or proposed for listing on the National Priority List (NPL);
- Listed or proposed for listing on a State priority list;
- Identified or listed by a government agency as an uncontrolled hazardous
waste site;
- Regulated as a corrective action covered by RCRA.
|
|
|
|
| |
Yes
<---------- |
|
------------------
|
No
----------> |
NO, if your worksite is ALL
of the following:
- not identified or listed as an uncontrolled hazardous waste site by any
governmental agency,
- not regulated as a corrective clean-up action covered by RCRA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| V |
|
V |
If OSHA considers your
worksite a hazardous waste site, then you must comply with:- HAZWOPER paragraphs
(b)-(o) and
- all other applicable General Industry (1910) or Construction Industry
(1910) standards.
|
|
| If OSHA does not consider
your worksite a hazardous waste site, then you must comply with all other
applicable General Industry (1910) or Construction Industry (1926)
standards. |
|
Employee Training for Worksite Response and Cleanup Activities
The training necessary for employees involved in worksite response and cleanup
efforts is dependent upon the hazards at the sites and the activities and tasks
the employees will perform. OSHA's HAZWOPER standard and its training
requirements apply to efforts that are "HAZWOPER emergency responses" and
hazardous waste site cleanups. It is important to understand that the training
required for emergency response workers is quite different than that required
for hazardous waste site workers. Training for both types of workers is
described in the following sections.
For worksite response and recovery efforts that are not covered by HAZWOPER,
workers must be trained as required by any other applicable General Industry
(1910) and Construction Industry (1926) OSHA standards. For example, if there is
a need to enter a permit-required confined space such as a sewer manhole, the
employer would need to assure that the entrant(s) and attendant(s) are properly
trained according to the Permit-Required Confined Spaces standard, 29 CFR
1910.146, prior to entry into the manhole. Examples of training requirements
that are likely to apply to workers involved in worksite responses include, but
are not limited to, the following standards: Hazard Communication (1910.1200),
Personal Protective Equipment, 29 CFR 1910.132, and
Bloodborne Pathogens, 29 CFR
1910.1030.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING
If it is determined that response activities are considered a "HAZWOPER
emergency response," then training for workers must minimally meet the
requirements of 1910.120(q). The training levels and content required for these
workers is dependent on the workers’ expected duties during the emergency
response as shown in Figure 3. For example, workers who are likely to witness or
discover a release and are expected only to initiate an emergency response by
notifying the proper authorities must be trained to the first responder
awareness level, 1910.120(q)(6)(i). Workers who respond in a defensive fashion
without actually trying to stop the release (e.g., containing the release from a
safe distance) must be trained to the first responder operations level,
1910.120(q)(6)(ii). Workers who are expected to approach the point of a
hazardous substance release for the purpose of stopping the release must be
trained to either the hazardous materials technician, 1910.120(q)(6)(iii), or
the hazardous materials specialist level, 1910.120(q)(6)(iv). Alternatively,
workers who are needed to temporarily perform immediate emergency support work
(e.g., excavator operators) may be considered skilled support personnel (SSP).
SSP must be provided an initial site briefing covering personal protective
equipment use, the chemical hazards involved, and the tasks to be performed.
Consequently, employers must evaluate the role and tasks workers will perform
and train them appropriately.
POST-EMERGENCY RESPONSE CLEANUP TRAINING
All workers performing post-emergency response removal of hazardous substances,
health hazards, or materials contaminated with them must receive training as
required by 1910.120(q)(11), as shown in Figure 3. Upon completion of the
emergency response, workers involved in subsequent cleanup or removal of
hazardous substances must be trained according to HAZWOPER paragraph (e), unless
they are conducting the cleanup operations at the plant property where they
work. These plant employees may be trained according to 29 CFR 1910.38, 29 CFR
1910.134, and 29 CFR 1910.1200 and other appropriate safety and health training
in lieu of complying with HAZWOPER (b)-(o).
Figure 3. Emergency and Post-Emergency Response Training
[Text Version]
Text version of flowchart:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No
--------
|
| Is your response considered
a "HAZWOPER emergency response?" |
|
Yes
---------------> |
| What role will the worker
be assigned in the emergency response? |
|
|
|
|
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING |
|
| |
-------|
|
V |
|
|---------------
|
|
V |
------------------
|
|
V |
-------------
|
|
V |
------------------|
|
|
V |
| You must
minimally provide training required by all other applicable General Industry
(1910) or Construction Industry (1926) standards. |
|
Incident
Commander
1910.120(q)(6)(v)
24 Hours Training
+
Competencies
+
Annual Refresher
|
|
Emergency
Responder
1910.120(q)(6)(i),
(ii), (iii), or (iv)
Training
+
Competencies
+
Annual Refresher |
|
Skilled Support
1910.120(q)(4)
S&H Briefing at Response Site
|
|
Specialist Employee
1910.120(q)(5)
Demonstration of specialization competencies
annually
|
|
| |
|
----------------
|
|
------------------
|
|
V |
|
------------- |
|
------------------ |
|
|
| Will the
response worker participate in post-emergency response cleanup? |
|
No
----------> |
| No further training is
required. |
|
| |
| Yes
|
V |
|
|
POST-EMERGENCY RESPONSE CLEANUP TRAINING
(per 1910.120(q)(11)) |
| Will the
cleanup operations be done on plant property using plant employees? |
| Yes
|
|
|
V
| Workers do not
have to meet the training requirements of HAZWOPER paragraph (e), however,
they must have completed training requirements of 1910.38, 1910.134,
1910.1200, and other appropriate safety and health standards. |
|
No
----------> |
Training for
these cleanup workers must comply with:
- HAZWOPER paragraph (e) and
- training requirements of all other applicable General Industry (1910) or
Construction Industry (1926) standards. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
V |
|
|
|
|
| See "Hazardous
Waste Site Cleanup Training" on the next full page for HAZWOPER paragraph
(e) training. |
|
HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE CLEANUP TRAINING
For worksite cleanup activities that did not originate from a "HAZWOPER
emergency response" but are determined to be hazardous waste site cleanups,
workers must be trained according to 1910.120(e). As with emergency response
training, the level and type of training is dependent upon on the workers'
expected duties and level of exposure as shown in Figure 4.
*Workers who are to be trained for a
specific oil spill cleanup that involved task with minimal exposure (e.g., beach
cleanup workers) may possibly be trained under a reduced OSHA training provision
described in OSHA Instruction CPL 02-02-051. This instruction applies only to
oil spills and is limited in circumstances.
Text version of flowchart:
| |
| Is the worksite considered
a Hazardous Waste Site under HAZWOPER (see fig 2)? |
|
|
| Yes
|
|
V |
No
-------> |
| If OSHA does not consider
your worksite a hazardous waste site, then you must comply with all other
applicable General Industry (1910) or Construction Industry (1926)
standards. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Will the worker be exposed
over permissible/published chemical exposure limits? |
|
| Yes
|
|
|
V |
No
-------> |
| Will the worker need to
wear a respirator or is there a potential for a site emergency to develop? |
|
| Yes
|
|
|
No
------------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V
|
| |
----------- |
----------------- |
| Does the worker have
previous work experience and/or training equivalent to the appropriate
training below? |
|
| |
| |
| Does the worker have
previous work experience and/or training equivalent to the appropriate
training below? |
|
Yes
Yes
------------------------------------------------------
|
|
V |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| No further HAZWOPER
training required, but site-specific training is necessary; the employer
must document HAZWOPER equivalency per 1910.120(e)(9). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| No
----------- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
__|
| No |
|
|
|
V |
|
|
|
| |
| Is the worker a
manager/supervisor? |
|
|
|
| No
|
V |
Yes
-------|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V |
V
| Is the worker a
manager/supervisor? |
|
|
| Yes
|
|
V |
No
-------------------|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V
|
General Site
Worker
1910.120(e)(3)(i)
40 Hours Training
+
24 Hours Field
+
Annual Refresher
|
|
Manager/Supervisors
1910.120(e)(4)
48 Hours Training
+
24 Hours Field
+
Annual Refresher
|
|
| Hazardous waste site
workers require training specified in any other applicable General Industry
(1910) or Construction Industry (1926) standard. |
^
|
|
Managers/Supervisors
of Workers Unlikely to Be Exposed Above Limits
1910.120(e)(4)
32 Hours Training
+
8 Hours Field
+
Annual Refresher |
|
Workers Unlikely to Be
Exposed Above Limits* 1910.120(e)(3)(ii) or (iii)
24 Hours Training
+
8 Hours Field
+
Annual Refresher |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
APPENDIX A
REFERENCE MATERIALS
- 29 CFR 1910.120 and 1926.65 – Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER).
- OSHA Instruction CPL 02-02-051, November 5, 1990, Inspection Guidelines for Post-Emergency Response Operations Under 29 CFR 1910.120.
- OSHA Instruction CPL 02-02-059, April 24, 1998, Inspection Procedures for the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard, 29 CFR 1910.120 and 1926.65, Paragraph (q): Emergency Response to Hazardous Substance Releases.
- OSHA Instruction CPL 02-02-071, November 5, 2003, Technical Enforcement and Assistance Guidelines for Hazardous Waste Site and RCRA Corrective Action Clean-up Operations HAZWOPER 1910.120 (b)-(o) Directive.
- Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, Revised 1997, OSHA Publication # 3114.
|
