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OSHA's Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency Response

OSHA's Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency Response
With hazardous materials in wide use today, dangers lurk in every nook and cranny from transportation to storage and use of these materials. This is why it is important to be educated about the OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response procedures.

There are many government agencies like the DOT, EPA and OSHA who have a very important role to play in enforcing the health and safety laws in the United States today. The DOT oversees the transportation of highly hazardous materials, while the EPA oversees those hazardous materials that may have a negative impact on the environment.

OSHA is a regulatory body that oversees the use of hazardous chemicals and ensures safety at the workplace. The agency regulates the Hazardous Waste clean-up operations and in case of emergencies that may arise from hazmat related incidents.

The Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standard is also known as HAZWOPER, and it encompasses:
  • Clean-up operations that are required by a government body at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.
  • Corrective actions that include clean-up operations.
  • Voluntary clean-up efforts at sites that are recognized by any government body to be uncontrolled waste sites.
  • Operations that involve hazardous wastes, and include treatment, storage and disposal.
Emergency Response operations that involve a certain degree of threat through hazardous substances.

The OSHA standard deals with those workers who are exposed to hazardous wastes. It deals with workers who are directly or indirectly exposed to hazards at the workplace, and helps to implement a safety plan in the organization to reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities at the workplace.

The most important aspect of HAZWOPER is that it requires for every work to have a certain level of skill and knowledge, and they are in turn required to be trained before they start with work. Depending upon the nature of the hazard, the courses that are provided by OSHA vary in duration.

Today, there are many companies that provide their employees with HAZWOPER trainings to imbibe a healthy working environment.

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