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]
[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
CFT 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 release 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 clean-up 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 clean-up 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 02-02-059, 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.
|
