Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Training

OSHA issued the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standards, 29 CFR 1910.120 and 29 CFR 1926.65 (54 Federal Register 9294-9336, March 6, 1989), to protect workers and enable them to handle hazardous substances safely and effectively. The HAZWOPER standard for the construction industry (29 CFR 1926.65) is identical to 29 CFR 1910.120. For brevity, the HAZWOPER standard is referenced as 29 CFR 1910.120 throughout the remainder of this information.

The HAZWOPER standard covers employers performing the following general categories of work operations:

• Hazardous waste site cleanup operations [paragraphs (b) – (o)];
• Operations involving hazardous waste that are conducted at treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities [paragraph (p)]; and
• Emergency response operations involving hazardous substance releases [paragraph (q)].

The HAZWOPER standard provides employers, emergency response workers, and other workers potentially exposed to hazardous substances information and training criteria to improve workplace safety and health and reduce workplace injuries and illnesses that could occur from exposures to hazardous substances. It is critical that employers and their workers understand the scope and application of HAZWOPER, and can determine which sections apply to their specific work operations.

The term "emergency response" often applies generally to any activity requiring immediate attention. Under HAZWOPER, this term applies specifically to response activities where there is an uncontrolled release of a hazardous substance, or where an uncontrolled release is likely. There are a multitude of scenarios and incidents that could result in releases of hazardous substances. 

Some examples include:

• Leaking of a hazardous substance from a storage tank or container,
• An overturned truck or railcar carrying hazardous materials,
• Chemical fires,
• Mechanical breakdown in a chemical process,
• Excavating/trenching buried contaminants or toxins,
• Site preparation uncovering buried hazardous waste, and
• Building earthen berms to contain hazardous waste runoff.

HAZWOPER does not apply to the accidental or foreseeable release of a hazardous substance that is limited in quantity, and poses no emergency or significant threat to the safety and health of workers in the immediate vicinity. Such incidents, referred to as "incidental releases" in the definition of "emergency response or responding to emergencies" at 29 CFR 1910.120(a)(3), are limited in quantity, exposure potential, or toxicity, and have no potential of becoming emergencies within a short time frame. 

There are five distinct operations that fall within the scope of the HAZWOPER standard:

• Cleanup operations required by a governmental body, whether federal, state, local, or other, involving hazardous substances conducted at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.
• Corrective actions involving cleanup operations at sites covered by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
• Operations involving hazardous waste conducted at treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities regulated under RCRA.
• Operations that generate hazardous waste but are not TSD facilities.
• Emergency response operations involving releases of, or substantial threats of releases of hazardous substances, without regard to the location of the hazards.

The first two cleanup operations describe environmental remediation activities planned at locations such as Superfund sites, Brownfield sites, abandoned industrial sites, and other similar locations. These are sites recognized by one or more governmental agencies as having the potential for worker exposure to hazardous substances and must comply with 29 CFR 1910.120(b)-(o).

The third operation covers TSD facilities, built and permitted to receive, treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste. TSD employers with a RCRA permit or interim status must comply with 29 CFR 1910.120(p). Other areas not covered by permit or interim status, which are inside these facilities and which could have uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances, must also comply with 29 CFR 1910.120(q).

Operations that generate hazardous waste but are not TSD facilities are also covered by HAZWOPER. Manufacturing facilities that have the potential for an emergency to occur due to an uncontrolled release of hazardous substances are covered by 29 CFR 1910.120(q). Conditionally-exempt small quantity generators and generators who store hazardous waste less than 90 days are covered by section 1910.120(p)(8) of HAZWOPER.

Emergency response operations can occur at public and private facilities, research laboratories, universities, chemical facilities, railroads, roads/highways, and any location with the potential for accidental releases of hazardous substances. Work to contain and control such hazardous substance releases on an emergency basis, when the exact nature and extent of the hazards are unknown, is regulated under the HAZWOPER standard. For such operations, employers must comply with 29 CFR 1910.120(q).

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. Online training at the LAB meets requirements for computer-based training where indicated.