Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
After making an assessment of the task and the workplace, having
conducted a review of back injuries that have occurred at the plant site
in the past, and after determining whether or not mechanical devices or
personal protective equipment can help reduce back injuries, the safety
person should decide on what type of worker back injury prevention
training program to institute. Experience has shown that training can
be an effective management aid in helping reduce back injuries. The
back injury prevention program is an ongoing program. Back injury pre-
vention and other types of safety training must be presented on a con-
tinuous basis. Moreover, follow-up training is the key to maintaining
what was learned in the initial training sessions.
1.13.11 excavation safety (29 Cfr 1926.650-652)
Wastewater collection systems are an integral part of wastewater
treatment, a utility that commonly performs trenching and excava-
tion work. Maintaining a leak-free, infiltration-free interceptor piping
system is important to providing a constant wastewater stream to the
treatment facility. Pipes fail. When they fail, they must be repaired or
replaced. On occasion, before repairing or replacing the lines, they must
be excavated.
Attempting repair work to aboveground interceptor lines is rela-
tively easy as compared to making repairs to underground lines. When
repairs are to be made to underground lines, either trenching or excava-
tion is required. A trench is a narrow excavation that is less than 15 feet
wide and is deeper than its width. An excavation, on the other hand, is a
cavity or depression that is cut or dug into the earth's surface.
Whether trenching or excavating, either operation is inherently
dangerous. As a matter of fact, working around and in excavations is one
of the most dangerous jobs in the wastewater treatment and construc-
tion industries. It is estimated, for example, that in the construction
industry alone, cave-ins claim about 100 lives every year. Thus, excavat-
ing interceptor lines is a very real hazard to wastewater workers. Having
said the obvious, post-incident investigations of trenching and excava-
tion mishaps have shown that little heed was paid by excavators to the
hazards involved with excavating and trenching.
If your facility undertakes routine repairs to or replacement of
underground interceptor lines, then you must ensure that the OSHA reg-
ulations pertaining to trenching and shoring are followed. These OSHA
regulations can be found in 29 CFR 1926.650-652 (the Construction
standard).
An effective trenching and shoring safety program begins with
knowing the hazards. Workers must know what they face during these
operations. Additionally, workers must know how to protect themselves
from injury through the proper use of safe work practices—in trenching
and excavation work there is no room for error. When a trench or excava-
tion fails, injuries and fatalities occur fast, often in seconds.
