Page 50 - Occupational Health & Safety, May 2018

EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Everyone is an Emergency Responder
If employees take the wrong response actions, don’t know what to do, or try to perform jobs they are not capable of, the resulting mistakes, confusion, and disarray will stand in the way of a safe response.
BY ROGER MARKS
46 Occupational Health & Safety | MAY 2018
www.ohsonline.com
The first moments of a hazardous substance release can be chaotic, disorienting, and scary. Safety professionals know all too well that in moments like these, human nature alone is not a reliable safety system.
If your facility uses and stores hazardous chemi- cals, you may be aware that under OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZ- WOPER) Standard, the terms “emergency” and “re- sponder” hold more nuanced and complex meaning than a basic dictionary might suggest.
Everyone responds during a hazardous substance release. When a chemical release happens—whether it happens on the production floor, in the warehouse, in the lab, in the shipping dock, or elsewhere—employ- ees of varying experience levels and physical abilities may be nearby. If an employee does not respond in some way, he or she could become ill, be injured, or lose his or her life.
It is critical that employers understand the vari- ous “levels” of HAZWOPER training that OSHA requires for different employees. By seeing how one level builds on the next, we can get a clear view of each
employee’s responsibilities and how much emergency response training each employee needs.
“In moments like these, human nature alone is not a reliable safety system.”
Level 1 ‘Awareness’
Every employee who may witness or discover a haz- ardous substance release and who is responsible for alerting others or evacuating must complete first re- sponder HAZWOPER awareness training. OSHA sets no time requirement for awareness level HAZWOP- ER training. Because awareness level first respond- ers’ responsibilities only include notifying others and evacuating, Level 1 is purely competency based. Em- ployees must demonstrate competency in:
1. Hazardous substance awareness, identification, and recognition
2. Understanding of the potential outcomes and risks
3. His or her role in the facility’s emergency re- sponse plan (e.g., site security, control, and the Emer- gency Response Guidebook, or ERG).
[29 CFR 1910.120(q)(6)(i)]
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