1910.120(a): HAZWOPER Scope and Application

(a) Scope, application, and definitions — 1 citations

(1) Scope. This section covers the following operations, unless the employer can demonstrate that the operation does not involve employee exposure or the reasonable possibility for employee exposure to safety or health hazards: Open (a)(1) 1 citations

(i) 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 (including, but not limited to, the EPA's National Priority Site List (NPL), state priority site lists, sites recommended for the EPA NPL, and initial investigations of government identified sites which are conducted before the presence or absence of hazardous substances has been ascertained); Open (a)(1)(i)

(ii) 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.);

(iii) Voluntary clean-up operations at sites recognized by Federal, state, local or other governmental bodies as uncontrolled hazardous waste sites; Open (a)(1)(iii)

(iv) Operations involving hazardous wastes that are conducted at treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities regulated by 40 CFR parts 264 and 265 pursuant to RCRA; or by agencies under agreement with U.S.E.P.A. to implement RCRA regulations; and Open (a)(1)(iv)

(v) Emergency response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of releases of, hazardous substances without regard to the location of the hazard. Open (a)(1)(v)

(2) Application. Open (a)(2)

(i) All requirements of part 1910 and part 1926 of title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations apply pursuant to their terms to hazardous waste and emergency response operations whether covered by this section or not. If there is a conflict or overlap, the provision more protective of employee safety and health shall apply without regard to 29 CFR 1910.5(c)(1). Open (a)(2)(i)

(ii) Hazardous substance clean-up operations within the scope of paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (a)(1)(iii) of this section must comply with all paragraphs of this section except paragraphs (p) and (q).

(iii) Operations within the scope of paragraph (a)(1)(iv) of this section must comply only with the requirements of paragraph (p) of this section. Open (a)(2)(iii)

(A) All provisions of paragraph (p) of this section cover any treatment, storage or disposal (TSD) operation regulated by 40 CFR parts 264 and 265 or by state law authorized under RCRA, and required to have a permit or interim status from EPA pursuant to 40 CFR 270.1 or from a state agency pursuant to RCRA.

(B) Employers who are not required to have a permit or interim status because they are conditionally exempt small quantity generators under 40 CFR 261.5 or are generators who qualify under 40 CFR 262.34 for exemptions from regulation under 40 CFR parts 264, 265 and 270 (“excepted employers”) are not covered by paragraphs (p)(1) through (p)(7) of this section. Excepted employers who are required by the EPA or state agency to have their employees engage in emergency response or who direct their employees to engage in emergency response are covered by paragraph (p)(8) of this section, and cannot be exempted by (p)(8)(i) of this section. Excepted employers who are not required to have employees engage in emergency response, who direct their employees to evacuate in the case of such emergencies and who meet the requirements of paragraph (p)(8)(i) of this section are exempt from the balance of paragraph (p)(8) of this section.

(C) If an area is used primarily for treatment, storage or disposal, any emergency response operations in that area shall comply with paragraph (p)(8) of this section. In other areas not used primarily for treatment, storage, or disposal, any emergency response operations shall comply with paragraph (q) of this section. Compliance with the requirements of paragraph (q) of this section shall be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of paragraph (p)(8) of this section.

(iv) Emergency response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of releases of, hazardous substances which are not covered by paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (a)(1)(iv) of this section must only comply with the requirements of paragraph (q) of this section. Open (a)(2)(iv)

(3) Definitions—Buddy system means a system of organizing employees into work groups in such a manner that each employee of the work group is designated to be observed by at least one other employee in the work group. The purpose of the buddy system is to provide rapid assistance to employees in the event of an emergency. Open (a)(3)

Clean-up operation means an operation where hazardous substances are removed, contained, incinerated, neutralized, stabilized, cleared-up, or in any other manner processed or handled with the ultimate goal of making the site safer for people or the environment.

Decontamination means the removal of hazardous substances from employees and their equipment to the extent necessary to preclude the occurrence of foreseeable adverse health affects.

Emergency response or responding to emergencies means a response effort by employees from outside the immediate release area or by other designated responders (i.e., mutual-aid groups, local fire departments, etc.) to an occurrence which results, or is likely to result, in an uncontrolled release of a hazardous substance. Responses to incidental releases of hazardous substances where the substance can be absorbed, neutralized, or otherwise controlled at the time of release by employees in the immediate release area, or by maintenance personnel are not considered to be emergency responses within the scope of this standard. Responses to releases of hazardous substances where there is no potential safety or health hazard (i.e., fire, explosion, or chemical exposure) are not considered to be emergency responses.

Facility means

(A) any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline (including any pipe into a sewer or publicly owned treatment works), well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, or aircraft, or

(B) any site or area where a hazardous substance has been deposited, stored, disposed of, or placed, or otherwise come to be located; but does not include any consumer product in consumer use or any water-borne vessel.

Hazardous materials response (HAZMAT) team means an organized group of employees, designated by the employer, who are expected to perform work to handle and control actual or potential leaks or spills of hazardous substances requiring possible close approach to the substance. The team members perform responses to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances for the purpose of control or stabilization of the incident. A HAZMAT team is not a fire brigade nor is a typical fire brigade a HAZMAT team. A HAZMAT team, however, may be a separate component of a fire brigade or fire department.

Hazardous substance means any substance designated or listed under paragraphs (A) through (D) of this definition, exposure to which results or may result in adverse affects on the health or safety of employees:

(A) Any substance defined under section 103(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601).

(B) Any biological agent and other disease-causing agent which after release into the environment and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into any person, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will or may reasonably be anticipated to cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutation, physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions in reproduction) or physical deformations in such persons or their offspring;

(C) Any substance listed by the U.S. Department of Transportation as hazardous materials under 49 CFR 172.101 and appendices; and

(D) Hazardous waste as herein defined.

Hazardous waste means—

(A) A waste or combination of wastes as defined in 40 CFR 261.3, or

(B) Those substances defined as hazardous wastes in 49 CFR 171.8.

Hazardous waste operation means any operation conducted within the scope of this standard.

Hazardous waste site or Site means any facility or location within the scope of this standard at which hazardous waste operations take place.

Health hazard means a chemical or a pathogen where acute or chronic health effects may occur in exposed employees. It also includes stress due to temperature extremes. The term health hazard includes chemicals that are classified in accordance with the Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, as posing one of the following hazardous effects: Acute toxicity (any route of exposure); skin corrosion or irritation; serious eye damage or eye irritation; respiratory or skin sensitization; germ cell mutagenicity; carcinogenicity; reproductive toxicity; specific target organ toxicity (single or repeated exposure); aspiration toxicity or simple asphyxiant. (See Appendix A to § 1910.1200—Health Hazard Criteria (Mandatory) for the criteria for determining whether a chemical is classified as a health hazard.)

IDLH orImmediately dangerous to life or health means an atmospheric concentration of any toxic, corrosive or asphyxiant substance that poses an immediate threat to life or would cause irreversible or delayed adverse health effects or would interfere with an individual's ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere.

Oxygen deficiency means that concentration of oxygen by volume below which atmosphere supplying respiratory protection must be provided. It exists in atmospheres where the percentage of oxygen by volume is less than 19.5 percent oxygen.

Permissible exposure limit means the exposure, inhalation or dermal permissible exposure limit specified in 29 CFR part 1910, subparts G and Z.

Published exposure level means the exposure limits published in “NIOSH Recommendations for Occupational Health Standards” dated 1986, which is incorporated by reference as specified in § 1910.6 or if none is specified, the exposure limits published in the standards specified by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in their publication “Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices for 1987-88” dated 1987, which is incorporated by reference as specified in § 1910.6.

Post emergency response means that portion of an emergency response performed after the immediate threat of a release has been stabilized or eliminated and clean-up of the site has begun. If post emergency response is performed by an employer's own employees who were part of the initial emergency response, it is considered to be part of the initial response and not post emergency response. However, if a group of an employer's own employees, separate from the group providing initial response, performs the clean-up operation, then the separate group of employees would be considered to be performing post-emergency response and subject to paragraph (q)(11) of this section.

Qualified person means a person with specific training, knowledge and experience in the area for which the person has the responsibility and the authority to control.

Site safety and health supervisor (or official) means the individual located on a hazardous waste site who is responsible to the employer and has the authority and knowledge necessary to implement the site safety and health plan and verify compliance with applicable safety and health requirements.

Small quantity qenerator means a generator of hazardous wastes who in any calendar month generates no more than 1,000 kilograms (2,205 pounds) of hazardous waste in that month.

Uncontrolled hazardous waste site, means an area identified as an uncontrolled hazardous waste site by a governmental body, whether Federal, state, local or other where an accumulation of hazardous substances creates a threat to the health and safety of individuals or the environment or both. Some sites are found on public lands such as those created by former municipal, county or state landfills where illegal or poorly managed waste disposal has taken place. Other sites are found on private property, often belonging to generators or former generators of hazardous substance wastes. Examples of such sites include, but are not limited to, surface impoundments, landfills, dumps, and tank or drum farms. Normal operations at TSD sites are not covered by this definition.