Source: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9765&p_text_version=FALSE
Timestamp: 2016-05-05 01:15:06
Document Index: 257318962

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 264', '§ 1910', '§ 1910', '§ 1910', '§ 1910', 'art 1910', 'art 1910', '§1910', '§1910']

Hazardous waste operations and emergency response. - 1910.120
Scope, application, and definitions. --
Clean-up operations required by a governmental body, whether Federal, state local or other involving hazardous substances that are conducted at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites (including, but not limited to, the EPA's National Priority Site List (NPL), state priority site lists, sites recommended for the EPA NPL, and initial investigations of government identified sites which are conducted before the presence or absence of hazardous substances has been ascertained);
Operations within the scope of paragraph (a)(1)(iv) of this section must comply only with the requirements of paragraph (p) of this section.
Employers who are not required to have a permit or interim status because they are conditionally exempt small quantity generators under 40 CFR 261.5 or are generators who qualify under 40 CFR 262.34 for exemptions from regulation under 40 CFR parts 264, 265 and 270 ("excepted employers") are not covered by paragraphs (p)(1) through (p)(7) of this section. Excepted employers who are required by the EPA or state agency to have their employees engage in emergency response or who direct their employees to engage in emergency response are covered by paragraph (p)(8) of this section, and cannot be exempted by (p)(8)(i) of this section.
Buddy system means a system of organizing employees into work groups in such a manner that each employee of the work group is designated to be observed by at least one other employee in the work group. The purpose of the buddy system is to provide rapid assistance to employees in the event of an emergency.
[A] Any substance defined under section 103(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601).
Hazardous waste means --
Health hazard means a chemical or a pathogen where acute or chronic health effects may occur in exposed employees. It also includes stress due to temperature extremes. The term health hazard includes chemicals that are classified in accordance with the Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, as posing one of the following hazardous effects: Acute toxicity (any route of exposure); skin corrosion or irritation; serious eye damage or eye irritation; respiratory or skin sensitization; germ cell mutagenicity; carcinogenicity; reproductive toxicity; specific target organ toxicity (single or repeated exposure); aspiration toxicity or simple asphyxiant. (See Appendix A to § 1910.1200—Health Hazard Criteria (Mandatory) for the criteria for determining whether a chemical is classified as a health hazard.)
IDLH or Immediately dangerous to life or health means an atmospheric concentration of any toxic, corrosive or asphyxiant substance that poses an immediate threat to life or would interfere with an individual's ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere.
Published exposure level means the exposure limits published in "NIOSH Recommendations for Occupational Health Standards" dated 1986, which is incorporated by reference as specified in § 1910.6, or if none is specified, the exposure limits published in the standards specified by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in their publication "Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices for 1987-88" dated 1987, which is incorporated by reference as specified in § 1910.6.
Post emergency response means that portion of an emergency response performed after the immediate threat of a release has been stabilized or eliminated and clean-up of the site has begun. If post emergency response is performed by an employer's own employees who were part of the initial emergency response, it is considered to be part of the initial response and not post emergency response. However, if a group of an employer's own employees, separate from the group providing initial response, performs the clean-up operation, then the separate group of employees would be considered to be performing post-emergency response and subject to paragraph (q)(11) of this section.
Safety and health program.
A site-specific safety and health plan which need not repeat the employer's standard operating procedures required in paragraph (b)(1)(ii)(F) of this section;
The employer's standard operating procedures for safety and health; and
Contractors and sub-contractors. An employer who retains contractor or sub-contractor services for work in hazardous waste operations shall inform those contractors, sub-contractors, or their representatives of the site emergency response procedures and any potential fire, explosion, health, safety or other hazards of the hazardous waste operation that have been identified by the employer's information program.
Organizational structure part of the site program. --
The comprehensive workplan shall address anticipated clean-up activities as well as normal operating procedures which need not repeat the employer's procedures available elsewhere.
Site-specific safety and health plan part of the program. --
Site characterization and analysis --
Preliminary evaluation. A preliminary evaluation of a site's characteristics shall be performed prior to site entry by a qualified person in order to aid in the selection of appropriate employee protection methods prior to site entry. Immediately after initial site entry, a more detailed evaluation of the site's specific characteristics shall be performed by a qualified person in order to further identify existing site hazards and to further aid in the selection of the appropriate engineering controls and personal protective equipment for the tasks to be performed.
If positive-pressure self-contained breathing apparatus is not used as part of the entry ensemble, and if respiratory protection is warranted by the potential hazards identified during the preliminary site evaluation, an escape self-contained breathing apparatus of at least five minute's duration shall be carried by employees during initial site entry.
Risk identification. Once the presence and concentrations of specific hazardous substances and health hazards have been established, the risks associated with these substances shall be identified. Employees who will be working on the site shall be informed of any risks that have been identified. In situations covered by the Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, training required by that standard need not be duplicated.
NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (c)(7). - Risks to consider include, but are not limited to:
Site control. --
Site control program. A site control program for protecting employees which is part of the employer's site safety and health program required in paragraph (b) of this section shall be developed during the planning stages of a hazardous waste clean-up operation and modified as necessary as new information becomes available.
Elements of the site control program. The site control program shall, as a minimum, include: A site map; site work zones; the use of a "buddy system"; site communications including alerting means for emergencies; the standard operating procedures or safe work practices; and, identification of the nearest medical assistance. Where these requirements are covered elsewhere they need not be repeated.
Training. --
Management and supervisor training. On-site management and supervisors directly responsible for, or who supervise employees engaged in, hazardous waste operations shall receive 40 hours initial training, and three days of supervised field experience (the training may be reduced to 24 hours and one day if the only area of their responsibility is employees covered by paragraphs (e)(3)(ii) and (e)(3)(iii)) and at least eight additional hours of specialized training at the time of job assignment on such topics as, but not limited to, the employer's safety and health program and the associated employee training program, personal protective equipment program, spill containment program, and health hazard monitoring procedure and techniques.
Equivalent training. Employers who can show by documentation or certification that an employee's work experience and/or training has resulted in training equivalent to that training required in paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(4) of this section shall not be required to provide the initial training requirements of those paragraphs to such employees and shall provide a copy of the certification or documentation to the employee upon request. However, certified employees or employees with equivalent training new to a site shall receive appropriate, site specific training before site entry and have appropriate supervised field experience at the new site. Equivalent training includes any academic training or the training that existing employees might have already received from actual hazardous waste site experience.
Medical surveillance --
All employees who wear a respirator for 30 days or more a year or as required by § 1910.134;
Medical examinations required by paragraph (f)(3) of this section shall include a medical and work history (or updated history if one is in the employee's file) with special emphasis on symptoms related to the handling of hazardous substances and health hazards, and to fitness for duty including the ability to wear any required PPE under conditions (i.e., temperature extremes) that may be expected at the work site.
A description of the employee's duties as they relate to the employee's exposures,
The employee's exposure levels or anticipated exposure levels.
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 emergency response, or from respirator use.
The physician's recommended limitations upon the employees assigned work.
Physicians' written opinions, recommended limitations and results of examinations and tests;
Engineering controls and work practices shall be instituted to reduce and maintain employee exposure to or below the permissible exposure limits for substances regulated by 29 CFR Part 1910, to the extent required by Subpart Z, except to the extent that such controls and practices are not feasible.
NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (g)(1)(i): Engineering controls which may be feasible include the use of pressurized cabs or control booths on equipment, and/or the use of remotely operated material handling equipment. Work practices which may be feasible are removing all non-essential employees from potential exposure during opening of drums, wetting down dusty operations and locating employees upwind of possible hazards.
Engineering controls, work practices, and PPE for substances not regulated in Subparts G and Z. An appropriate combination of engineering controls, work practices, and personal protective equipment shall be used to reduce and maintain employee exposure to or below published exposure levels for hazardous substances and health hazards not regulated by 29 CFR Part 1910, Subparts G and Z. The employer may use the published literature and SDS as a guide in making the employer's determination as to what level of protection the employer believes is appropriate for hazardous substances and health hazards for which there is no permissible exposure limit or published exposure limit.
The level of protection provided by PPE selection shall be increased when additional informationor site conditions show that increased protection is necessary to reduce employee exposures below permissible exposure limits and published exposure levels for hazardous substances and health hazards. (See Appendix B for guidance on selecting PPE ensembles.)
NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (g)(3): The level of employee protection provided may be decreased when additional information or site conditions show that decreased protection will not result in hazardous exposures to employees.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) program. A personal protective equipment program, which is part of the employer's safety and health program required in paragraph (b) of this section or required in paragraph (p)(1) of this section and which isalso a part of the site-specific safety and health plan shall be established. The PPE program shall address the elements listed below. When elements, such as donning and doffing procedures, are provided by the manufacturer of a piece of equipment and are attached to the plan, they need not be rewritten into the plan as long as they adequately address the procedure or element.
Monitoring. --
Initial entry. Upon initial entry, representative air monitoring shall be conducted to identify any IDLH condition, exposure over permissible exposure limits or published exposure levels, exposure over a radioactive material's dose limits or other dangerous condition such as the presence of flammable atmospheres, oxygen-deficient environments.
Monitoring of high-risk employees. After the actual clean-up phase of any hazardous waste operation commences; for example, when soil, surface water or containers are moved or disturbed; the employer shall monitor those employees likely to have the highest exposures to those hazardous substances and health hazards likely to be present above permissible exposure limits or published exposure levels by using personal sampling frequently enough to characterize employee exposures. The employer may utilize a representative sampling approach by documenting that the employees and chemicals chosen for monitoring are based on the criteria stated in the first sentence of this paragraph. If the employees likely to have the highest exposure are over permissible exposure limits or published exposure limits, then monitoring shall continue to determine all employees likely to be above those limits. The employer may utilize a representative sampling approach by documenting that the employees and chemicals chosen for monitoring are based on the criteria stated above.
NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (h): It is not required to monitor employees engaged in site characterization operations covered by paragraph (c) of this section.
Informational programs. Employers shall develop and implement a program which is part of the employer's safety and health program required in paragraph (b) of this section to inform employees, contractors, and subcontractors (or their representative) actually engaged in hazardous waste operations of the nature, level and degree of exposure likely as a result of participation in such hazardous waste operations. Employees, contractors and subcontractors working outside of the operations part of a site are not covered by this standard.
Handling drums and containers --
Where major spills may occur, a spill containment program, which is part of the employer's safety and health program required in paragraph (b) of this section, shall be implemented to contain and isolate the entire volume of the hazardous substance being transferred.
Drums and containers containing packaged laboratory wastes shall be considered to contain shock-sensitive or explosive materials until they have been characterized.
Caution: Shipping of shock sensitive wastes may be prohibited under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. Employers and their shippers should refer to 49 CFR 173.21 and 173.50.
Appropriate tank or vault entry procedures as described in the employer's safety and health plan shall be followed whenever employees must enter a tank or vault.
Decontamination --
Emergency response by employees at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites --
Procedures for reporting incidents to local, state, and federal governmental
The emergency response plan shall be a separate section of the Site Safety and Health
Illumination. Areas accessible to employees shall be lighted to not less than the minimum illumination intensities listed in the following Table H-120.1 while any work is in progress:
TABLE H-120.1. -- MINIMUM ILLUMINATION INTENSITIES IN FOOT-CANDLES
Sanitation at temporary workplaces --
1910.120(n)(3)(i)
Toilets shall be provided for employees according to Table H-120.2.
TABLE H-120.2. -- TOILET FACILITIES
New technologies, equipment or control measures available to the industry, such as the use of foams, absorbents, absorbents, neutralizers, or other means to suppress the level of air contaminants while excavating the site or for spill control, shall be evaluated by employers or their representatives. Such an evaluation shall be done to determine the effectiveness of the new methods, materials, or equipment before implementing their use on a large scale for enhancing employee protection. Information and data from manufacturers or suppliers may be used as part of the employer's evaluation effort. Such evaluations shall be made available to OSHA upon request.
Certain Operations Conducted Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). Employers conducting operations at treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facilities specified in paragraph (a)(1)(iv) of this section shall provide and implement the programs specified in this paragraph. See the "Notes and Exceptions" to paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section for employers not covered.
Hazard communication program. The employer shall implement a hazard communication program meeting the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.1200 as part of the employer's safety and program.
NOTE TO §1910.120 - The exemption for hazardous waste provided in 1910.1200 is applicable to this section.
New employees. The employer shall develop and implement a training program which is part of the employer's safety and health program, for employees exposed to health hazards or hazardous substances at TSD operations to enable the employees to perform their assigned duties and functions in a safe and healthful manner so as not to endanger themselves or other employees. The initial training shall be for 24 hours and refresher training shall be for eight hours annually. Employees who have received the initial training required by this paragraph shall be given a written certificate attesting that they have successfully completed the necessary training.
Current employees. Employers who can show by an employee's previous work experience and/or training that the employee has had training equivalent to the initial training required by this paragraph, shall be considered as meeting the initial training requirements of this paragraph as to that employee. Equivalent training includes the training that existing employees might have already received from actual site work experience. Current employees shall receive eight hours of refresher training annually.
Emergency response program --
Emergency response plan. An emergency response plan shall be developed and implemented by all employers. Such plans need not duplicate any of the subjects fully addressed in the employer's contingency planning required by permits, such as those issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, provided that the contingency plan is made part of the emergency response plan. The emergency response plan shall be a written portion of the employer's safety and health program required in paragraph (p)(1) of this section. Employers who will evacuate their employees from the worksite location when an emergency occurs and who do not permit any of their employees to assist in handling the emergency are exempt from the requirements of paragraph (p)(8) if they provide an emergency action plan complying with 29 CFR 1910.38.
Training for emergency response employees shall be completed before they are called upon to perform in real emergencies. Such training shall include the elements of the emergency response plan, standard operating procedures the employer has established for the job, the personal protective equipment to be worn and procedures for handling emergency incidents.
The employer shall certify that each covered employee has attended and successfully completed the training required in paragraph (p)(8)(iii) of this section, or shall certify the employee's competency for certification of training shall be recorded and maintained by the employer.
1910.120(p)(8)(iv)(A)(1)Site topography, layout, and prevailing weather conditions.
1910.120(p)(8)(iv)(A)(2)Procedures for reporting incidents to local, state, and federal governmental agencies.
Emergency response organizations may use the local emergency response plan or the state emergency response plan or both, as part of their emergency response plan to avoid duplication. Those items of the emergency response plan that are being properly addressed by the SARA Title III plans may be substituted into their emergency plan or otherwise kept together for the employer and employee's use.
The senior emergency response official responding to an emergency shall become the individual in charge of a site-specific Incident Command System (ICS). All emergency responders and their communications shall be coordinated and controlled through the individual in charge of the ICS assisted by the senior official present for each employer.
NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (q)(3)(i). - The "senior official" at an emergency response is the most senior official on the site who has the responsibility for controlling the operations at the site. Initially it is the senior officer on the first-due piece of responding emergency apparatus to arrive on the incident scene. As more senior officers arrive (i.e. , battalion chief, fire chief, state law enforcement official, site coordinator, etc.) the position is passed up the line of authority which has been previously established.
Skilled support personnel. Personnel, not necessarily an employer's own employees, who are skilled in the operation of certain equipment, such as mechanized earth moving or digging equipment or crane and hoisting equipment, and who are needed temporarily to perform immediate emergency support work that cannot reasonably be performed in a timely fashion by an employer's own employees, and who will be or may be exposed to the hazards at an emergency response scene, are not required to meet the training required in this paragraph for the employer's regular employees. However, these personnel shall be given an initial briefing at the site prior to their participation in any emergency response. The initial briefing shall include instruction in the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment, what chemical hazards are involved, and what duties are to be performed. All other appropriate safety and health precautions provided to the employer's own employees shall be used to assure the safety and health of these personnel.
An understanding of the role of the first responder awareness individual in the employer's emergency response plan including site security and control and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Emergency Response Guidebook.
Know how to implement the employer's emergency response plan.
Know and be able to implement the employer's incident command system.
Where the clean-up is done on plant property using plant or workplace employees, such employees shall have completed the training requirements of the following: 29 CFR 1910.38, 1910.134, 1910.1200, and other appropriate safety and health training made necessary by the tasks they are expected to perform such as personal protective equipment and decontamination procedures.
APPENDICES TO §1910.120 - HAZARDOUS WASTE OPERATIONS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
[61 FR 9227, March 7, 1996; 67 FR 67964, Nov. 7, 2002; 71 FR 16672, April 3, 2006; 76 FR 80738, Dec. 27, 2011; 77 FR 17776, March 26, 2012; 78 FR 9313, Feb. 8, 2013]
Next Standard (1910.120 App A)