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Frequently Asked
Questions:
HAZWOPER
- Who
is covered by OSHA's HAZWOPER Standard?
- Is
computer-based training acceptable for refresher
training?
- For
emergency response in an unknown or potentially IDLH
atmosphere, what is the minimum number of people
required?
- Can
refresher training be given in segments?
- What
if refresher training isn't received in 12 months?
- What
are the training or certification requirements for HAZWOPER
trainers?
- What
are the HAZWOPER training requirements for hospital
staff?
- What
is the difference between an incidental and an emergency
spill?
- What
are the HAZWOPER training requirements for on-site workers
who are not directly involved in cleanup activities?
- What
is the applicability of HAZWOPER to small quantity
generators?
- What
is the application of HAZWOPER to TSD facilities that store
hazardous materials for 90 days or less?
Who is covered by
OSHA's HAZWOPER standard?
The Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency
Response Standard (HAZWOPER) applies to five distinct groups
of employers and their employees. This includes any 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 1910.120(a)(1)(i-v)
and 1926.65(a)(1)(i-v):
- 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;
- corrective actions involving clean-up operations at
sites covered by the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act of 1976 (RCRA) as amended (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);
- voluntary clean-up operations at sites recognized by
federal, state, local, or other governmental body as
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites;
- operations involving hazardous wastes that are conducted
at treatment, storage, and disposal facilities regulated by
Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 264 and
265 pursuant to RCRA, or by agencies under agreement with
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement RCRA
regulations; and
- emergency response operations for releases of, or
substantial threats of release of, hazardous substances
regardless of the location of the hazard.
Reference Interpretation and Compliance
Letters:
Is
computer-based training acceptable for refresher
training?
Computer-based training may meet some refresher
training requirements, provided that it covers topics relevant
to workers' assigned duties. It must be supplemented by the
opportunity to ask questions of a qualified trainer and by an
assessment of hands-on performance of work tasks.
Reference Interpretation and
Compliance Letters:
For emergency response in
an unknown or potentially IDLH atmosphere, what is the minimum
number of people required?
At a minimum, four (4) people are required: two
working as a team inside the unknown or potentially IDLH
atmosphere, and two working outside this atmosphere for
assistance or rescue.
Reference Interpretation and Compliance
Letters:
Can refresher training be given in
segments?
Refresher
training may be given in segments so long as the required 8
hours have been completed by the employee's anniversary
date.
Reference
Interpretation and Compliance Letters:
What if refresher training
isn't received in 12 months?
If the date for refresher training has lapsed,
the need to repeat initial training must be determined based
on the employee's familiarity with safety and health
procedures used on site. The employee should take the next
availably refresher training course. "There should be a record
in the employee's file indicating why the training has been
delayed and when the training will be
completed."
Reference
Interpretation and Compliance Letters:
What are the training or
certification requirements for HAZWOPER
trainers?
The "Hazardous
Waste Operations and Emergency Response" standard (HAZWOPER),
29 CFR 1910.120, states in paragraph (e)(5) that "Trainers
shall be qualified to instruct employees about the subject
matter that is being presented in training". In addition, 29
CFR 1910.120(e)(5) explains that the qualifications of the
instructors may be shown by academic degrees, completed
training courses and/or work experience.
At this time,
OSHA does not have any specific requirements to certify an
instructor. The subjects that trainers should be able to
convey to employees at hazardous waste operations who need
training are summarized in paragraphs (e), (p) and (q) of the
HAZWOPER standard.
Reference Interpretation and Compliance
Letters:
What are the HAZWOPER
training requirements for hospital
staff?
OSHA's Hazardous
Waste and Emergency Response standard (HAZWOPER) requires that
workers be trained to perform their anticipated job duties
without endangering themselves or others. To determine the
level and type of training your workers need, you must
consider the hazards in your community and what capabilities
your personnel need to respond to those hazards. You should
make your determination based on worst-case scenarios. If your
personnel are expected to provide limited decontamination
services in order to attend to medical problems, they must be
trained to the first responder operations level with emphasis
on the use of PPE and decontamination procedures. This level
of emergency response training is described in 29 CFR
1910.120(q)(6)(ii); additional guidance about the content of
this training is available in HAZWOPER's Appendix E. Hospitals
may develop in-house training or they may send personnel to a
standard first responder operations level course, then provide
additional training in decontamination and PPE as needed.
HAZWOPER requires the employer to certify that workers have
the training and competencies listed in (q)(6)(ii). The
standard also requires annual refresher training or
demonstration of competency, as described in
(q)(8).
Reference
Interpretation and Compliance Letters:
What is the difference
between an incidental and an emergency
spill?
An incidental
release is a release of hazardous substance which does not
pose a significant safety or health hazard to employees in the
immediate vicinity or to the employee cleaning it up, nor does
it have the potential to become an emergency within a short
time frame. Incidental releases are limited in quantity,
exposure potential, or toxicity and present minor safety or
health hazards to employees in the immediate work area or
those assigned to clean them up. An incidental spill may be
safely cleaned up by employees who are familiar with the
hazards of the chemicals with which they are
working.
The properties of hazardous substances, such
as toxicity, volatility, flammability, explosiveness,
corrosiveness, etc., as well as the particular circumstances
of the release itself, such as quantity, confined space
considerations, ventilation, etc., will have an impact on what
employees can handle safely and what procedures should be
followed. Additionally, there are other factors that may
mitigate the hazards associated with a release and its
remediation, such as the knowledge of the employee in the
immediate work area, the response and personal protective
equipment (PPE) at hand, and the pre-established standard
operating procedures for responding to releases of hazardous
substances. There are some engineering control measures that
will mitigate the release that employees can activate to
assist them in controlling and stopping the
release.
These considerations (properties of the
hazardous substance, the circumstances of the release, and the
mitigating factors in the work area) combine to define the
distinction between incidental releases and releases that
require an emergency response. The distinction is
facility-specific and is a function of the emergency response
plan.
Reference
Interpretation and Compliance Letters:
What are the HAZWOPER training requirements
for on-site workers who are not directly involved in cleanup
activities?
Workers,
such as utility workers, who must perform duties at a
hazardous waste site that has not yet been characterized but
where contamination is expected, do fall under the scope of 29
CFR 1910.120. These workers must work under the direction of
an on-site supervisor and a site-specific safety and health
plan, and must be fully trained and protected pursuant to the
HAZWOPER standard. When additional information becomes
available through site characterization which verifies that
there is minimal or no risk of employee exposure to hazardous
substances, a lesser degree of PPE and worker training may be
acceptable.
When site characterization shows that the
area to be serviced by workers is free of potential exposure,
or the proposed work assignments would not expose any of the
work crew to hazardous substances, the activity can be carried
out as a normal maintenance or construction
operation.
... The utility contractor is bound to
provide at least the minimum number of training hours
specified. On a hazardous waste site that has many site
specific peculiarities the employer may need to train
employees beyond the 40 or 24 hour minimum set by the
standard. Employees must be provided training that prepares
them for their job functions and responsibilities, as stated
in the general requirements in 29 CFR
1910.120(e).
Reference
Interpretation and Compliance Letters:
What is the applicability of
HAZWOPER to small quantity generators?
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 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
[1910.120 or 1926.65]. 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 [1910.120 or 1926.65], and cannot be exempted by
(p)(8)(i) of this section [1910.120 or
1926.65].
Reference
Interpretation and Compliance Letters:
What is the application of
HAZWOPER to TSD facilities that store hazardous materials for
90 days or less?
Conditionally-exempt small quantity generators
and generators who store hazardous wastes for less than 90
days are exempt from compliance with sections (p)(1) through
(p)(7), and are thus covered only by section (p)(8), the
emergency response program.
Employers who have
hazardous waste storage areas in their facilities have the
option of meeting the emergency response requirements of
HAZWOPER by complying with either paragraph (p)(8) or
paragraph (q) for those areas. The employer must meet the
requirements of paragraph (q) for other areas of their
facility which have potential for emergency releases of
hazardous substances or hazardous raw materials.
...
[Regarding the] exemption from employee training requirements
under paragraph (p)(8) if the employer intends to evacuate
employees in the event of an emergency. Paragraph (p)(8)(i),
like paragraph (q)(1), provides an exemption from the
emergency response requirements if the employer intends to
evacuate all employees and provides an emergency action plan
(i.e., an evacuation plan) in accordance with 29 CFR
1910.38(a).
However, the HAZWOPER standard states in
paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(B) that "employers who are required by
the EPA or state agency to have their employees engage in
emergency response... are covered by paragraph (p)(8) of this
section, and cannot be exempted by (p)(8)(i) of this
section."
Reference
Interpretation and Compliance Letters:
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