660 HAZWOPER for General Site Workers I

It's the Law

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), passed in 1976, was established to set up a framework for the proper management of hazardous waste.

Cradle to Grave

RCRA provides "cradle-to-grave" control of solid and hazardous waste by establishing management requirements for generators and transporters of hazardous waste and for owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs). RCRA has been amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA), the FFCA and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Hazardous Waste Generation (the "cradle"): Under RCRA, hazardous waste generators are the first link in the hazardous waste management system. All generators must determine if their waste is hazardous and must oversee the ultimate fate of the waste.

Hazardous Waste Transportation (the "to"). After generators produce hazardous waste, transporters may move the waste to a facility that can recycle, treat, store or dispose of the waste.

Hazardous Waste Recycling, Treatment, Storage and Disposal (the "grave"). Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) provide temporary storage and final treatment or disposal for hazardous wastes. Since they manage large volumes of waste and conduct activities that may present a higher degree of risk, TSDFs are stringently regulated.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER) regulations and published them at 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 1910.120.

The regulations require that individuals in a workplace assigned to emergency response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of release of, hazardous substances, without regard to the location of the release, be properly trained in emergency response procedures.

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