Hazardous Waste Handbook for Health and Safety

HAZARDOUS WASTE HANDBOOK FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY

William F. Martin

John M. Lippitt

Timothy G. Prothero

Butterworths

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Authors

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Hazards

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

CHEMICAL EXPOSURE

FIRE AND EXPLOSION

OXYGEN DEFICIENCY

IONIZING RADIATION

BIOLOGIC (ETIOLOGIC) HAZARDS

PHYSICAL SAFETY HAZARDS

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

HEAT STRESS

COLD EXPOSURE

NOISE

Chapter 3: Planning and Organization

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

PERSONNEL AND RESPONSIBILITIES

WORK PLAN

HEALTH AND SAFETY PLAN

SAFETY MEETINGS AND INSPECTIONS

Chapter 4: Site Characterization

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

OFF-SITE CHARACTERIZATION

ON-SITE INFORMATION GATHERING

HAZARD ASSESSMENT

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE DATA SHEET

MONITORING

Chapter 5: Air Monitoring

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

SITE CHARACTERIZATION

MONITORING PERSONNEL

VARIABLES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE EXPOSURE

FIELD STUDY RESULTS

Chapter 6: Personal Protective Equipment

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

DEVELOPING A PPE PROGRAM

SELECTION OF RESPIRATORY EQUIPMENT

SELECTION OF PROTECTIVE CLOTHING

SELECTION OF ENSEMBLES

PPE USE

HEAT STRESS AND OTHER PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS

Chapter 7: Site Control and Work Practices

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

SITE MAP

SITE PREPARATION

SITE WORK ZONES

THE BUDDY SYSTEM

SITE SECURITY

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

SAFE WORK PRACTICES

HANDLING DRUMS AND OTHER CONTAINERS

Chapter 8: Decontamination

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

DECONTAMINATION PLAN

PREVENTION OF CONTAMINATION

TYPES OF CONTAMINATION

DECONTAMINATION METHODS

EFFECTIVENESS TESTING

HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS

LEVELS OF DECONTAMINATION

DECONTAMINATION FACILITY DESIGN

DECONTAMINATION EQUIPMENT SELECTION

DISPOSAL METHODS

PERSONNEL PROTECTION

EMERGENCY DECONTAMINATION

Chapter 9: Site Emergencies

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

PLANNING

PERSONNEL

TRAINING

EMERGENCY RECOGNITION AND PREVENTION

COMMUNICATIONS

SITE MAPPING

SAFE DISTANCES AND REFUGES

SITE SECURITY AND CONTROL

EVACUATION ROUTES AND PROCEDURES

DECONTAMINATION

EQUIPMENT

MEDICAL TREATMENT/FIRST AID

EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURES

DOCUMENTATION

Chapter 10: Medical Monitoring Program

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

MONITORING

PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENING

MEDICAL MONITORING EXAMINATION

TERMINATION EXAMINATION

EMERGENCY TREATMENT

PROGRAM REVIEW

Chapter 11: Training

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

TRAINING PROGRAMS

RECORD OF TRAINING

List of Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Glossary

Sample Site Safety Plan

Medical Occupational History

Hazardous Substance Data Sheet

Chemical Protective Clothing Recommendations

Decontamination Procedures for Three Typical Levels of Protection

Health and Safety Checklist

Chemical Hazard Data

Index

Copyright

Copyright © 1987 by Butterworth Publishers. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hazardous waste handbook for health and safety.

Includes bibliographies and index

1. Hazardous waste sites—Safety measures—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Hazardous waste sites—Hygienic aspects—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Environmental Pollution—handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Lippitt, John M. II. Prothero, Timothy G. III. Title. [DNLM: 1. Environmental Monitoring—handbooks. 2. Environmental Pollution—handbooks. 3. Industrial Waste—handbooks. WA 39 M383h]

TD811.5.M368 1986 628.4′4 86-26373

ISBN 0-409-90070-2

Butterworth Publishers

80 Montvale Avenue

Stoneham, MA 02180

10 9 8 7 6 5

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

Many individuals and organizations contributed substantially to the development of the original four agency occupational safety and health documents by providing technical information, technical review, and editorial and production assistance. They are gratefully acknowledged again for their valuable contribution to the original documents from which this handbook was condensed.

This practical hazardous waste health and safety handbook would not be possible without the previous work of many individuals, companies and several government agencies. During the past five years the authors have worked with a host of highly qualified professionals in the nation’s efforts to safely contain hazardous waste spills, cleanup abandoned landfills and control hazardous chemical threats to the environment and public health.

The authors take this opportunity to acknowledge a portion of those individuals and organizations that contributed to the vast array of publications, lectures and training programs that served as the basis for this publication.

Mazen Y. Anastas

Linda R. Anku

Robert Arnott

Barrett Benson

Stephen Berardinelli

Robert J. Bicknell

Linda Bochert

Nancy J. Bollinger

Thomas Burke

Barry Burrus

George A. Carson

Byron R. Chadwick

Roger A. Clark

Clarence Clemmons

Leslie Cole

Jan Connery

Rory Connolly

Charlotte Cottrill

Richard J. Costello

Robert D. Cox

William DeVille

Max Eisenberg

John Farthing

Patrick Ford

James S. Ferguson

Anthony A. Fuscaldo

Maurice Georgevitch

Charles L. Geraci

Ralph F. Goldman

Al Hines

Austin Henschell

Dean Y. Ikeda

Chris Jennings

William J. Keffer

Richard Kent

Gail F. Kleiner

Jay C. Klemme

James W. Lake

Mike Larsen

Steven P. Levine

Brana Lobel

Donald Mackenzie

Karen L. Mann

James M. Melius

John B. Miles

Ronald Miller

Frank L. Mitchell

Edward Morris

Charles M. Nenadic

Lawrence J. Partridge

George Pettigrew

B. Jim Porter

Gerald P. Reidy

Stanley J. Reno

James A. Rodgers

Richard M. Ronk

Paul Roper

Walter E. Ruch

Gilbert J. Saulter

Heidi Schultz

Tom Sell

James J. Severns

James Solyst

Frank L. Strahselm

Alexander Stanrunas

Wesley Straub

Rod Turpin

Leslie J. Ungers

Leonard Vance

Lynn P. Wallace

James B. Walters

David Weitzman

Charles Whilhelm

Mary K. White

Arthur D. Little Corporation

BCL Associates

Council of State Governments

Eastern Research Group, Inc.

Energy and Environmental Management, Inc.

GCA Corporation

Multi-Tech

National Governors’ Association

PEDCo Environmental, Inc.

Phoenix Safety Associates Ltd.

Radian Corporation

SCS Engineers

S & D Engineering, Inc.

TRC Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Recognition is given to U.S. Public Health Service, OSHA, EPA and U.S. Coast Guard for their efforts under superfund to gather, develop, and make publicly available health and safety publications and contractor reports.

The authors give special recognition and greatly appreciate the editorial and manuscript assembly assistance of Sandra Barnett Clark.

Authors

William F. Martin holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky and a M.S. degree in Environmental Health Engineering from the University of Texas. He is presently a consultant on hazardous waste and worker training in association with GSX Services, Inc., Clearwater, Florida, with a professional engineer license in Texas and Kentucky. During 22 years with the U.S. Public Health Service, he held positions with the Indian Health Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

John M. Lippitt holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Bowling Green State University and a M.S. in Environmental Science from Miami University. He has been a Registered Sanitarian in Ohio since 1975. During eleven years of professional experience he has served as a Public Health Sanitarian, conducted carcinogen testing development research with the USEPA, provided monitoring and enforcement of hazardous waste regulations as an on-site representative of the Ohio EPA at a major hazardous waste landfill, and provided environmental and health and safety consulting services as an employee of SCS Engineer, WAPORA, Inc., two environmental engineering consulting firms, and currently as an independent consultant.

Timothy G. Prothero is a chemist by training with extensive field experience performing remedial investigations and cleanups of abandoned hazardous waste sites including Chem. Dyne, Pristine and Summit National in Ohio. His responsibilities and duties ranged from initial site investigations, remedial action planning, health and safety planning and reviews, to plan implementations, waste handling and direction of site cleanup activities. Mr. Prothero has been an independent consultant since 1980. His clients have included both government and industry.

1

Introduction

In the past decade, industry, government, and the general public have become increasingly aware of the need to respond to the hazardous waste problem, which has grown steadily over the past 100 years. In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)–the Superfund law–to provide for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response for hazardous substances released into the environment and the cleanup of abandoned and uncontrolled hazardous waste disposal sites. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) sets the standards for waste handling, storage and disposal. The 1975 law, Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, provides regulation of hazardous materials labeling, packaging, placarding, manifesting and transporting.

This handbook is a guidance document for supervisors responsible for occupational safety and health programs at hazardous waste sites. This handbook was developed to give site supervisors specific instructions and guidelines on how to protect the safety and health of workers at hazardous waste sites. A second goal of this handbook is to improve hazardous waste operations efficiency through knowledge and training of the work force. A third goal is to reduce the cost of hazardous waste cleanups through reduced law suits and liability losses of employers and individuals.

This manual is intended for individuals that have direct responsibility to implement and carry out hazardous waste site clean-up and their subcontractors. It can be used:

 As a planning tool,

 As a management tool,

 As an educational tool,

 As a reference document.

This document is an applied industrial hygiene handbook for hazardous waste activities and should be a valuable source book on hazardous waste occupational safety and health. It should be used as a preliminary basis for developing a specific health and safety program. Consult other sources and experienced individuals as necessary for the detail needed to design and implement occupational safety and health programs at specific hazardous waste sites.

Although this manual cites Federal regulations, it is not a definitive legal document and should not be taken as such. Individuals who are responsible for the health and safety of workers at hazardous waste sites should obtain and comply with the most recent Federal, state, and local regulations relevant to hazardous waste sites. The Codes of Federal Regulations (CFR) publications provide the federal regulations complete text of current law. Some of the CFR’s of direct application to hazardous waste operations are as follows: 40 CFR 300, 29 CFR 1910, 40 CFR 260-265, 30 CFR 11, and 49 CFR 100-199. These federal publications can be located at major public libraries, university libraries and most major federal and state offices.

The following federal agencies and their parallel state agencies can be contacted for the latest regulations, training materials and technical updates.

U.S. Public Health Service

National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH)

Hazardous Waste Program

4676 Columbia Parkway

Cincinnati, OH 45226

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Directorate of Technical Support

200 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20210

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Occupational Health and Safety

Staff (PM-273)

Washington, DC 20460

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION (FEMA)

500 C Street, SW

Washington, DC 20472

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

Environmental Response Division (G-WER-2)

2100 Second Street, SW

Washington, DC 20593

AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND DISEASE REGISTRY

Superfund Group

4770 Buford Highway

Chamblee, GA 30341

Although the handbook was designed to assist supervisors at abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, the information can be used in planning for and responding to emergencies involving hazardous materials.

A selection of a few references is provided at the end of each chapter to provide the user of this handbook some additional sources of more technical information.

Suggested Reading Sources

1. Lindgren, Gary F.Managing Industrial Hazardous Waste—Guide To. Butterworths Publishers, 1983.

2. Levine S.P., Martin W.F., eds. Protecting Personnel at Hazardous Waste Sites. Butterworths Publishers, 1985.

3. Hazardous Material Spills—Conference Proceedings, Government Institutes, Inc., Rockville, MD.

4. Management of Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites—Conference Proceedings, Government Institutes, Inc., Rockville, MD.

5. Toxic Organic Chemicals, Destruction and Waste Treatment. Parkridge, NJ: Ellsworth Hackman, III Noise Data Corporation, 1978.

6. Sachs, N. Irving. Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, 5th Ed. VanNostrand Rhinehold Company, 1979.

7. Fire Protection Guide on Hazardous Materials. 7th Edition, National Fire Protection Association; 1978.

8. Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Guide Book, Department of Transportation Publication No. DOTP 5800.2, 1980.

9. Sachs, N. IrvingCancer Causing Chemicals. VanNostrand Rhinehold Company, 1981.

10. Chemical Hazards Response Information (CHRIS). United States Coast Guard: Department of Transportation, 1978.

11. Response Methods Handbook of Chemical Hazards Response Information System (CHRIS). United States Coast Guard: Department of Transportation, 1978.

12. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. Karel Verschueren, VanNostrand Rhinehold Company, 1977.

13. The MERCK Index. 9th Edition, Merck & Company Inc.; 1976.

14. Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1979.

15. Guide for Safety in the Chemical Laboratory. Manufacturing Chemists Association, VanNostrand Rhinehold Company, 1972.

16. Everybody’s Problem: Hazardous Waste. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Publication No. SW-826, 1980.

17. Toxic and hazardous Industrial Chemicals Safety Manual. International Technical Information Institute, August 1980.

18. Hazardous Chemicals Data Book. Noise Data Corporation, 1980.

19. Bretherick, L. Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 2nd Edition. Butterworth Publishing, 1979.

20. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, Publication 78-210, September 1985, GPO.

21. Robinson J.S., ed. Hazardous Chemicals Spill Cleanup. Noise Data Corporation, 1979.

22. Zajic, J.E., Himmelman, W.A.Highly Hazardous Materials Spills and Emergency Planning. Marcel-Dekker Inc., 1978.

23. Meyer, EugeneChemistry of Hazardous Materials. Prentice Hall Inc., 1977.

24. Bierlein, L.Red Book on Transportation of Hazardous Materials. Kahners Books International, Inc., 1977.

25. Clayton, G.D., Clayton, F.E., eds. Patty’s Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, 3rd Edition, Volume 1. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1978.

26. LeFevre, Mark J.First Air Manual for Chemical Accidents. D. H. and R. Inc., 1980.

27. Safety In Working With Chemicals, Michael Green and Amos Turck, 1978.

28. Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 85-115, GPO, October 1985.

2

Hazards

Publisher Summary

This chapter provides an overview of typical hazards that workers and cleaning crews face in hazardous waste sites. Hazardous waste sites pose a multitude of health and safety risks, any one of which could result in serious injury or death. These hazards are either physical or chemical in nature and can result from chemical exposure, fire and explosion, oxygen deficiency, ionizing radiation, heat stress, cold exposure, or noise. Interaction among the substances may produce additional compounds not originally deposited at the site. Workers are subject to dangers posed by the disorderly physical environment of uncontrolled sites. The stress of working in protective clothing comes with its own set of risks. Protective gear adorned by workers at hazardous sites is equipped to deal with any unknown variable that might be at play on the work site. In approaching a site, it is prudent to assume that all these hazards are present unless site characterization shows otherwise. A site health and safety program must provide protection against the potential hazards. The safety program needs to be continuously updated with new information and changing site conditions.

INTRODUCTION

Hazardous waste sites pose a multitude of health and safety risks, any one of which could result in serious injury or death (see Table I). These hazards are due to the physical and chemical nature of the site as well as a consequence of the work being performed. They include:

TABLE I

OVERVIEW OF TYPICAL HAZARDS ENCOUNTERED TO HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES

Note: See Appendix H for additional information on a selection of 380 chemicals and their hazards, IDLH, PEL, symptoms, and personal Protective equipment.

1. Chemical exposure

2. Fire and explosion

3. Oxygen deficiency

4. Ionizing radiation

5. Biologic hazards

6. Physical safety hazards

7. Electrical hazards

8. Heat stress

9. Cold exposure

10. Noise

Interaction among the substances may produce additional compounds not originally deposited at the site. Workers are subject to dangers posed by the disorderly physical environment of uncontrolled sites. The stress of working in protective clothing adds it’s own risk. Selection of protective equipment is often overly conservative due to many unknowns (see Chapter 8, Personal Protective Equipment).

In approaching a site, it is prudent to assume that all these hazards are present until site characterization has shown otherwise. A site health and safety program must provide protection against the potential hazards, and specific protection against individual known hazards. The safety program must be continuously updated with new information and changing site conditions.

CHEMICAL EXPOSURE

Preventing exposure to toxic chemicals is a primary concern at hazardous waste sites. Most sites contain a variety of chemical substances in gaseous, liquid or solid form. These substances can enter the unprotected body by inhalation, direct skin contact, ingestion or through a puncture wound (injection). A contaminant can cause damage at the point of contact or can act systemically by causing a toxic effect at other points in the body.

Chemical exposures are generally divided into two categories (acute and chronic). Symptoms resulting from acute exposures usually occur during, or shortly after exposure to a sufficiently high concentration of a contaminant. The concentration required to produce such effects varies widely from chemical to chemical. The term chronic exposure generally refers to exposures to low concentrations of a contaminant over a long period of time. The (low) concentrations required to produce symptoms of chronic exposure depend upon the chemical, the duration of each exposure, and the number of exposures. For a given contaminant, the symptoms of an acute exposure may be completely different from those resulting from chronic exposure.

For either chronic or acute exposure, the toxic effect may be temporary and reversible, or may be permanent (disability or death). Some chemicals may cause obvious symptoms such as burning, coughing, nausea, tearing eyes or rashes. Other chemicals may cause health damage without any such warning signs. Health effects such as cancer or respiratory disease may not become manifest for several years or decades after exposure. In addition, some toxic chemicals may be colorless and/or odorless, may dull the sense of smell or may not produce any immediate discomfort which could act as a warning that toxic chemicals are present. Thus, the ability of a worker to readily notice an exposure by his or her senses or feelings of discomfort cannot be relied upon to determine whether or not a worker is at risk of toxic exposure to these chemicals.

The effects of exposure are not just dependent upon the chemical, its concentration, route of entry, and duration of exposure. A given response to a toxic chemical may also be influenced by a number of personal factors such as the individual’s smoking habits, alcohol consumption, medication use, nutrition, age and sex (see Chapter 10, Medical Monitoring Program).

A primary exposure route of concern on a hazardous waste site is inhalation. The lungs are extremely vulnerable to chemical agents. Even substances that do not directly affect the lungs may pass through lung tissue into the bloodstream. Chemicals can also enter the respiratory tract through punctured ear drums.

Direct contact of the skin and eyes by gaseous, liquid or solid substances is another important route of exposure. Some chemicals directly injure the skin. Some pass through the skin into the bloodstream where they are transported to vulnerable organs. Skin absorption is enhanced by abrasions, cuts, heat and moisture. The eye is particularly vulnerable because airborne chemicals can dissolve onto its moist surface and be carried to the rest of the body through the bloodstream (capillaries are very close to the surface of the eye). Do not wear contact lenses when wearing protective equipment since they can trap chemicals against the eye surface. Keeping hands away from the face, minimizing contact with liquid and solid chemicals and use of protective clothing and eye wear will protect against skin and eye exposure to hazardous substances.

Although ingestion should be the least significant route of exposure at a site, it is important to be aware of ways in which this type of exposure can occur. Deliberate ingestion of chemicals is unlikely, however, personal habits such as chewing gum or tobacco, drinking, eating, and smoking cigarettes on site may provide a route of entry for