2.8 Safety

2.8.1 Worker Health and Safety

The Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (29 CFR 1910.120) can be found at:
www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9765

The US EPA Health and Safety Manual can be found at:
www.epaosc.org/_HealthSafetyManual/index.htm

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences "Safety and Health Awareness for Oil Spill Cleanup Workers" can be found at:
www.rrt5.org/Documents/PDFs/NIEHS_Oil_Spill_Manual_Awareness.PDF

 

2.8.2 Volunteer Worker Health and Safety

For job duties and responsibilities with a low magnitude of risk, fewer than 24 hours of training may be appropriate for post-emergency cleanup workers. It is the expectation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that though the number of hours of training may vary, a minimum of 4 hours would be appropriate in most situations. Moreover, petroleum spills are unique in that many people who assist in the cleanup may not engage in this activity on a recurring basis. In addition, for maximum protection of the environment, petroleum spills dictate that cleanup must be completed as soon as possible (OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.51). The DOL RRT5 representative is responsible for determining site-specific training requirements.  For information see National Response Team: Use of Volunteers Guidelines for Oil Spills.

 

2.8.3 Safety / Environmental Health Officers

The Safety Officer - (SO) function is to develop and recommend measures for assuring personnel safety, and to monitor and/or anticipate hazardous and unsafe situations. Only one SO will be assigned for each incident.Visit the Incident Command System website for more information:  www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1507480595284-c03057a7e8423fac8eb6b85a5976a645/NQS_509_SafetyOfficer_FINAL.pdf

 

2.8.4 Emotional Health Services

For information on critical incident stress management, please see the OSHA Critical Incident Stress Guide and other references at www.osha.gov/SLTC/emergencypreparedness/guides/critical.html