HAZWOPER

HAZWOPER (an acronym for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) is a set of guidelines produced and maintained by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which regulates hazardous waste operations and emergency services in the United States and its territories. With these guidelines, OSHA aims to protect workers at hazardous sites and outlines several levels of training and requirements for workers and their supervisors, depending on the specific type of work and the identified hazards.

Overview

The HAZWOPER standard 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 29 CFR 1910.120(a)(1)(i-v) and 29 CFR 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.
• Emergency response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of releases of, hazardous substances regardless of the location of the hazard.

Training

The HAZWOPER standard provides for three levels of training. The first is a 40-hour course for workers who will be involved in clean-up operations. The second is a 24-hour course for workers who are only occasionally on site and who will likely encounter less exposure to hazardous substances. The third is an 8-hour refresher course for all workers, to be taken annually.

See also

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
• Hazardous waste
• Emergency response

HAZWOPER Resources
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