Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
excavation. Safety measures such as fences, barricades, covers for man-
holes, flags, security guards, and warning signs may be necessary. It is
important to remember that lighting may be necessary so safety can be
maintained at night.
Along with providing proper lighting so excavators can see well
enough to work in an excavation, a stairway, ladder, ramp, or other safe
means of egress must be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet or
more in depth so as to require no more than 25 feet of lateral travel for
workers.
As with any other dangerous operation, the plant safety person
should ensure that a contingency plan for emergency response is used.
This contingency plan must be made clear and understandable to all
trenching and excavation personnel. Emergency procedures are worth-
less unless they are common knowledge. Someone should always be
outside the trench or excavation to help, if necessary. Emergency tele-
phone numbers should be readily available. As a final precaution, the
trench or excavation should be backfilled as soon as possible when the
work is completed.
As with many other work activities, OSHA requires that personnel
involved with excavation activities be trained and that this training be
documented. Moreover, OSHA also requires that the person in charge
of the excavation be a qualified or competent person . When qualifying
a qualified/competent person for excavation and trenching operations,
it is wise to put together an excavation crew and a potential qualified/
competent person as the person in charge and have the crew dig a hole
12 feet deep in a practice area. Experience gained through actually per-
forming the work can never be replicated by listening to a classroom
lecture on the topic.
While observing the dig and shoring procedures, note whether or
not the potential qualified/competent person is conducting the dig as
required. If the dig is done correctly, certify the person in charge as
being qualified for excavation/trenching operations. The other excava-
tion crew members should be given certificates of training verifying that
they have been trained.
1.13.12 hazardous Materials emergency
response (29 Cfr 1910.120)
CoVan (1995) defined emergency response “as a limited response to
abnormal conditions expected to result in unacceptable risk requiring
rapid corrective action to prevent harm to personnel, property, or sys-
tems function” (p. 54). OSHA and the EPA require that facilities handling
or using hazardous materials (e.g., chlorine, sulfur dioxide, sodium
hydroxide, methane) develop a site emergency response plan and provide
worker training to give workers correct guidance on what to do in case of
medical, fire, or chemical discharge emergencies. The OSHA/EPA joint
standards on hazardous waste operations and emergency response are
commonly referred to as hazWoPer .
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