Introduction to Occupational Safety & Health: Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) Andrew Burgie, M.S. Center for Occupational & Environmental Health at Hunter College

Presentation Overview n Basic Concepts in Protecting Worker Health & Safety n Hazardous Waste Legislation n HAZWOPER Courses n Questions and Comments

Basic Concepts in Protecting Worker Health & Safety n Health & Safety Standards & Terminology n OSHA Regulation “General Duty Clause”

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) - Labor n Covers only private employers n State may have public employee version of OSHA standard as long as it is “at least as stringent” as the federal standard n OSHA’s facility inspection program can be random, planned, complaint-driven, by referral, or accident-driven n Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) are the legally enforceable exposure limits used

Standard Definitions OSHA PELs : Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limits n Employee exposed for 8 hours/day; 40 hours/week; until retirement without experiencing adverse health effects n Legally enforceable exposure limits

OSHA General Duty Clause “Employee has right to safe and healthy workplace” n Employer must provide safe & healthy workplace n Employee must abide by rules and regulations insuring a safe & healthy workplace

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Important document that explains how to protect a worker against the physical and chemical properties of a substance used at work. The document shall identify: n Substance Name and Hazardous Ingredients n Physical Properties and Fire and Explosion Data n Substance Stability n Short and Long Term Health Hazard Data n Proper Use and Handling of Substance n Proper Protective Clothing to be Worn by Worker

Hazardous Waste Legislation

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Controlled Waste RCRA - Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (1976) n Waste treatment was addressed from “cradle to grave” (waste creation to final disposal) n Only applies to active facilities and future facilities and does not address abandoned or historical waste sites

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Uncontrolled Waste CERCLA – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (1980) n Chemical companies were taxed and that money was put into a “Superfund” to clean up abandoned waste sites n “Hazard Ranking System (HRS)” was developed to rank abandoned waste sites from “most dangerous to least dangerous” n “HRS” resulted in National Priorities List

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Uncontrolled Waste SARA – Superfund Amendments & Reauthorization Act (1985) n Extended CERCLA’s authority to address waste n Community Right-to-Know enabled public to identify neighborhood industrial properties that generate hazardous materials n Toxic Release Inventories enabled public to identify neighborhood industrial properties that released hazardous materials into air, soil and water u

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) - Labor “HAZWOPER” – Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (1989) n Requires health and safety training for persons managing hazardous materials

HAZWOPER Course Examples

HAZWOPER Training Courses n HAZWOPER Worker – 40 Hours (initial training) u Additional 3 days on-site training after course n HAZWOPER Refresher – 8 Hours (annual training) n HAZWOPER Supervisor – 8 Hours n Specialized Sites (RCRA TSD) – 24 Hours n Emergency Response (Specialized Trainings) u Awareness- 8 Hours u Operations- 8 Hours u Technician- 24 Hours u Specialist- 24 Hours u On-Scene Incident Command- 8 Hours

HAZWOPER – Training Highlights Hazard Recognition, Evaluation, & Control n Site Characterization & Analysis n Site Control n Engineering Controls, Work Practices, etc. n Monitoring of Site and Personnel n Handling of Hazardous Waste Containers n Decontamination Procedures n Emergency Response

HAZWOPER – Hazard Recognition How can you recognize hazards? n What Types of Hazards Exist? n What Threats are Posed by Careless Disposal? n When Is It Hazardous Waste? n DOT Emergency Response Guidebook

What Types of Hazards Exist? n Chemical Hazards (corrosive, ignitable, toxic, reactive, etc.) n Biological Hazards (bacteria, viruses, fungi) n Physical Hazards (heat, noise, radiation) n Safety Hazards (slips, trips, falls) n Ergonomic Hazards (repetitive stress injuries)

Threats Posed by Careless Disposal n Direct Contact u Hazardous chemical spill on skin n Fire and/or Explosions u Oil tanker on fire on highway n Poison via the Food Chain u Eating fish contaminated with mercury

Threats Posed by Careless Disposal n Air Pollution u Breathing in vehicle fumes or smog n Surface Water Contamination u A factory dumpling chemicals in a river (PCBs) n Groundwater Contamination u A large dry cleaner spilling chemicals into the ground

Hazardous Materials Spill /Leak Spill/leak ground penetration analysis of vehicle fuel

“Superfund” Site A.L. TAYLOR SITE (VALLEY OF DRUMS), BROOKS, KY Record of Decision (liability) 06/18/1986 – Famous Superfund Site

When Is It Hazardous Waste? If & When hazardous substances (defined as ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic materials) are discarded or intended to be discarded such as: n Non-usable commercial chemical products u Used oil from car repair shop n Contaminated soil, water, or other debris from chemical spill cleanup u Oil spill in ocean from oil tanker

2004 Emergency Response Guidebook – Hazard ID

Department of Transportation Vehicle Placards – Hazard ID

HAZWOPER – Hazard Evaluation How can you evaluate hazards? n Monitoring of Site and Personnel u Air, soil, and water monitoring u Worker exposure monitoring

Direct-Reading Devices for Air Four Gas Meter / PID combo – explosive gas, oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide / VOCs Colorimetric tubes – gases, fumes, vapors, mists (tube medium changes color) Photo Ionization Detector (PID) – volatile organic compounds (counts number of ions in air)

Direct-Reading Devices for Air Colorimetric tubes – Contaminated air pumped through tubes by air pumping device – tubes change color, if contaminant is present in significant quantity PID – Contaminated air pumped through tubes by air pumping device – display number increases, if contaminant is present in significant quantity

HAZWOPER – Hazard Control How can you control hazards? n Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) u Protective Clothing (suits, gloves, boots, etc.) u Respiratory Protective Equipment n Remediation Technologies (site-specific)

Protective Clothing - Suits LEVEL “A” LEVEL “B” LEVEL “C”

Protective Equipment - Respiratory “half-face” “full-face” Air tank

Remediation Technologies n Chemical u Neutralization, Precipitation u Oxidation Reduction u Ion Exchange u Disinfection n Physical u Screening, Sedimentation u Filtration u Stripping, Air and Steam n Biological u Aerobic u Anaerobic

Remediation Technologies “Capped” landfill

Remediation Technologies Removing Chemical Vapor from Soil

Hazardous Site Conversion Luminous Processors Athens, Georgia

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION n QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION _____________________________________ ANDREW BURGIE, M.S. Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at Hunter College