Employers and employees involved with hazardous waste operations and emergency response activities are protected under different health and safety standards known as
HAZWOPER.
HAZWOPER standards apply to specific duties in the workplace, including but not limited to the emergency response operations for the release or threat of release of hazardous substances, and hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal. Any employer with one or more employee and performs one of the specific duties covered under HAZWOPER is protected.
HAZWOPER has a list of specific rules for compliance including a written safety and health program. Many overlap with federal standards, and should be carefully adhered to in order to insure compliance.
OSHA regulations only help private sector employees, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the same standards of health and safety to public sector employers as well.
Other federal regulations other than HAZWOPPER also apply to hazardous waste operations. The regulations include the RCRA, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act.
HAZWOPER Help is on the way
Safety.BLR.com has an extensive selection of compliance and training resources on HAZWOPER. This safety website has hundreds of sample safety training meetings in all time-saving formats: PowerPoint, safety talks, OSHA refresher, outlines, and checklists.
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The Safety Library has more helpful HAZWOPER resources like these:
HAZWOPER training meetings
Pre-written HAZWOPER written plans, guidance documents and how-to-guides
HAZWOPER forms and checklists