NOTES AND EXCEPTIONS TO (A)(2)(C):
Buddy system: 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 quick assistance to employees in the event of an emergency.
Certified employee: An employee that has completed all of the requirements for training certification delineated in subsection (e)(6) of this section.
Certified supervisor: A supervisor that has completed all of the requirements for training certification delineated in subsection (e)(6) of this section.
Clean-up operation: 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: The removal of hazardous substances from employees and their equipment to the extent necessary to preclude the occurrence of foreseeable adverse health effects.
Emergency response, or responding to emergencies: 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, which may cause high levels of exposure to toxic substances, or which poses danger to employees requiring immediate attention. 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 immediate safety or health hazard (i.e., fire, explosion, or chemical exposure) are not considered to be emergency responses.
NOTE: The "immediate release area" can be the entire geographic boundary of the employee's assigned work area.
Facility:
Hazardous materials response (HAZMAT) team: An organized group of employees, designated by the employer, which is 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: Any substance designated or listed under A. through D. below, exposure to which results or may result in adverse effects on the health or safety of employees:
Hazardous substance removal work: Clean-up work at any of the following:
Hazardous waste: A waste or combination of wastes as defined in 40 CFR 261.3, or regulated as hazardous waste in California pursuant to Chapter 6.5, Division 20, California Health and Safety Code, or B. those substances defined as hazardous wastes in 49 CFR 171.8.
Hazardous waste operation: Any operation conducted within the scope of this regulation including hazardous substance removal work as defined in Labor Code Section 142.7(b).
Hazardous waste site, or site: Any facility or location at which hazardous waste operations within the scope of this regulation take place.
Health hazard: 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, Section 5194, 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 Section 5194 Health Hazard Criteria (Mandatory) for the criteria for determining whether a chemical is classified as a health hazard.)
IDLH or Immediately dangerous to life or health: 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.
Incidental release: An incidental release is one that does not cause a health or safety hazard to employees and does not need to be cleaned up immediately to prevent death or serious injury to employees.
Oxygen deficiency: That concentration of oxygen by volume below which air 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 (PEL): The exposure, inhalation or dermal permissible exposure limit specified in 8 CCR, Chapter 4, Subchapter 7, Groups 14 and 15; and Group 16, Articles 107, 109, and 110.
Post-emergency response: 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 subsection (q)(11) of this section.
Pre-job health and safety conference: A health and safety conference or briefing held prior to entering a site for the purpose of initiating hazardous substance removal work.
Published exposure level: The exposure limits published in "NIOSH Recommendations for Occupational Safety and Health Standards 1988" incorporated by reference, or if no limit 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 1989-90" dated 1989 incorporated by reference.
Qualified person: A person with specific training, knowledge and experience in the area for which the person has the responsibility and the authority to control.
Single-user toilet facility: A toilet facility with a locking mechanism, controlled by the user, with one toilet, or one toilet and one urinal.
Site safety and health supervisor (or official): 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 generator: 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: An area where an accumulation of hazardous waste 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 waste. 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.
Uncontrolled release: An uncontrolled release is the accidental release of a hazardous substance from its container. If not contained, stopped, and removed, the release would pose a hazard to the employees in the immediate area or in areas in the path of the release, or from its byproducts or its effects (such as toxic vapors, fire, over-pressurization, toxic gases, or toxic particulates.
NOTE TO (b): Safety and health programs developed and implemented to meet other Federal, state, or local regulations are considered acceptable in meeting this requirement if they cover or are modified to cover the topics required in this subsection. An additional or separate safety and health program is not required by this subsection.
NOTE TO (A): In general, a site plan organized as a single document, with component sections/appendices covering all tasks, operations, and contractors/sub-contractors, may be used to promote use efficiency, and enhance completeness, clarity, and coordination.
NOTE TO (c)(7): Risks to consider include, but are not limited to:
NOTE TO (g)(1)(A): Engineering controls which may be feasible include the use of pressurized cabs or control booths on equipment, and/or the use of remotely operated material handling equipment. Work practices which may be feasible are removing all non-essential employees from potential exposure during opening of drums, wetting down dusty operations and locating employees upwind of possible hazards.
NOTE TO (g)(3): The level of employee protection provided may be decreased when additional information or site conditions show that decreased protection will not result in hazardous exposures to employees.
If the employees likely to have the highest exposure are over PELs or published exposure levels, then monitoring shall continue in order to identify all employees likely to be above those limits. The employer may utilize a representative sampling approach by documenting that the employees and chemicals chosen for monitoring are based on the criteria stated above.
NOTE TO (h): It is not required to monitor employees engaged in site characterization operations covered by subsection (c) of this section.
CAUTION: Shipping of shock sensitive wastes may be prohibited under U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations. Employers and shippers should refer to 49 CFR 173.21 and 173.50.
Table H-1 | ||
Minimum Illumination Intensities in Foot-Candles | ||
Foot candles | Area or operations | |
5 | General site areas. | |
3. | Excavation and waste areas, accessways, active storage areas, loading platforms, refueling, and field maintenance areas. | |
5 | Indoors: Warehouses, corridors, hallways, and exitways. | |
5 | Tunnels, shafts, and general underground work areas. (EXCEPTION: Minimum of 10 foot-candles is required at tunnel and shaft heading during drilling, mucking, and scaling. Mine Safety and Health Administration approved cap lights shall be acceptable for use in the tunnel heading.) | |
10 | General shops (e.g., mechanical and electrical equipment rooms, active storerooms, barracks or living quarters, locker or dressing rooms, dining areas, and indoor toilets and workrooms.) | |
30 | First aid stations, infirmaries, and offices. |
EXCEPTIONS:
NOTE TO 8 CCR 5192: The exemption for hazardous waste provided in 8 CCR 5194 is applicable to this section.
EXCEPTION #1: An employer need not train all employees to the degree specified if the employer divides the work force in a manner such that a sufficient number of employees who have responsibility to control emergencies have the training specified, and all other employees, who may first respond to an emergency incident, have sufficient awareness training to recognize that an emergency response situation exists and that they are instructed in that case to summon the fully trained employees and not attempt control activities for which they are not trained.
EXCEPTION #2: An employer need not train all employees to the degree specified if arrangements have been made in advance for an outside fully-trained emergency response team to respond in a reasonable period and all employees, who may come to the incident first, have sufficient awareness training to recognize that an emergency response situation exists and they have been instructed to call the designated outside fully-trained emergency response team for assistance.
NOTE TO (q)(3)(A): The "senior official" at an emergency response is the most senior official on the site who has the responsibility for controlling the operations at the site until the emergency response official who is determined to have ultimate incident control authority arrives. Initially it is the senior officer on the first-due piece of responding emergency apparatus to arrive on the incident scene, usually a police or fire vehicle. As more senior officials arrive the position is passed up the line of authority which has been previously established. As there may be several separate spheres of responsibility at a given site (police, fire, CalTrans, for example), there may be several "senior officials," each responsible for his/her own employees. The "senior emergency response official" who will have ultimate site control responsibility is established in the Hazardous Material Incident Contingency Plan for the State of California (January 1991), promulgated by the State Office of Emergency Services (OES) as directed by Health and Safety Code, Sec. 25503 (HS 25503), and California Code of Regulations, Title 19, Division 2 (19 CCR, Div. 2: Office of Emergency Services) and in coordination with the various city and county, i.e., area emergency response plans.
However, these personnel shall be given an initial briefing at the site prior to their participation in any emergency response. The initial briefing shall include instruction in the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment, what chemical hazards are involved, and what duties are to be performed. All other appropriate safety and health precautions provided to the employer's own employees shall be used to assure the safety and health of these support personnel.
NOTE TO (q)(6)(E): Management personnel who, during an emergency situation, stay out of the hazardous area and who are not taking charge of the incident, and are not a "specialist" employee under subsection (q)(5) of this section are not subject to the provisions of this section.
Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 8, § 5192
NOTE: Authority cited: Sections 142.3 and 142.7, Labor Code. Reference: Sections 142.3 and 142.7, Labor Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 142.3 and 142.7, Labor Code. Reference: Sections 142.3 and 142.7, Labor Code.
2. Amendment of definition of "Hazardous substance" filed 9-4-2012; operative 10-4-2012 (Register 2012, No. 36).
3. Amendment of definition of "Health Hazard" within subsection (a)(3), amendment of subsection (g)(2) and amendment of item B. 5.1 within Appendix A filed 5-6-2013; operative 5-6-2013 pursuant to Labor Code section 142.3(a)(4)(C). Submitted to OAL for printing only pursuant to Labor Code section 142.3(a)(4) (Register 2013, No. 19).
4. Amendment of definition of "Health Hazard" within subsection (a)(3), amendment of subsection (g)(2) and amendment of item B. 5.1 within Appendix A refiled 11-6-2013; operative 11-6-2013 pursuant to Labor Code section 142.3(a)(4)(C). Submitted to OAL for printing only pursuant to Labor Code section 142.3(a)(4) (Register 2013, No. 45).
5. Repealer of 11-6-2013 order by operation of law 5-6-2014 pursuant to Labor Code 142.3 (Register 2014, No. 19).
6. Amendment of definition of "Health Hazard" within subsection (a)(3), amendment of subsection (g)(2) and amendment of item B. 5.1 within Appendix A filed 5-5-2014; operative 5/6/2014 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2014, No. 19).
7. Editorial correction restoring inadvertently omitted subsection (a)(2)(B) and portion of (a)(2)(C) (Register 2014, No. 38).
8. Editorial correction of subsection (a)(3) - Oxygen deficiency (Register 2015, No. 37).
9. Amendment of subsection (a)(3) adding new definition of "Single-user toilet facility" and repealer and new Exceptions to subsection (n)(3)(A) filed 3-3-2020; operative 7/1/2020 (Register 2020, No. 10).
10. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(1)(B) and, within subsection (a)(3), amending subsection A. of definition of "Hazardous substance" and amending subsection A.1. of definition of "Hazardous substance removal work" filed 1-23-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 4).