Safety Meetings and Inspections
To ensure the Site Safety Plan is being followed, the Site Safety Officer should conduct a safety meeting before initiating any site activity and before and after each work day.
The purpose of these safety meetings is to:
- describe the assigned tasks and their potential hazards
- coordinate activities
- identify methods and precautions to prevent injuries
- plan for emergencies
- describe any changes in the Site Safety Plan
- get worker feedback on conditions affecting safety and health
- get worker feedback on how well the Site Safety Plan is working
The Site Safety Officer should also conduct frequent inspections of site conditions, facilities, equipment, and activities to determine whether the Site Safety Plan is adequate and being followed.
At a hazardous waste site, risks to workers can change quickly and dramatically when there are changes in:
- work and other site activities
- state of degradation of containers and containment structures. State of equipment maintenance
- weather conditions
The following guidelines should be observed to make safety inspections effective:
- Develop a checklist for each site, listing the items that should be inspected.
- Review the results of these inspections with supervisors and workers.
- Document all inspections and subsequent follow-up actions.
- Retain records until site activities are completed and as required by regulatory agencies.
The minimum frequency at which inspections should occur varies with the characteristics of the site and the equipment used on-site. Factors that need to be considered are:
- the severity of risk on-site
- regulatory requirements
- operation and maintenance requirements
- the expected effective lifetime of clothing, equipment, vehicles, and other items
- recommendations based on professional judgment, laboratory test results, and field experience
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
4-10. How can risks to workers of a hazardous waste site change suddenly?
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