- Drums and containers used during the clean-up must meet the
appropriate DOT, OSHA, and EPA regulations for the wastes that they contain.
- When practical, drums and containers must be inspected and
their integrity assured prior to being moved.
- Drums or containers that cannot be inspected before being
moved because of storage conditions (i.e., buried beneath the earth, stacked behind other
drums, stacked several tiers high in a pile, etc.) must be moved to an accessible location
and inspected prior to further handling.
- Unlabeled drums and containers must be considered to contain
hazardous substances and handled accordingly until the contents are positively identified
and labeled.
- Site operations must be organized to minimize the amount of
drum or container movement.
- Prior to movement of drums or containers, all employees
exposed to the transfer operation must be warned of the potential hazards associated with
the contents of the drums or containers.
- U.S. Department of Transportation specified salvage drums or
containers and suitable quantities of proper absorbent must be kept available and used in
areas where spills, leaks, or ruptures may occur.
- Where major spills may occur, a spill containment program,
which is part of the employer's safety and health program required in paragraph (b) of
this section, must be implemented to contain and isolate the entire volume of the
hazardous substance being transferred.
- Drums and containers that cannot be moved without rupture,
leakage, or spillage must be emptied into a sound container using a device classified for
the material being transferred.
- A ground-penetrating system or other type of detection
system or device must be used to estimate the location and depth of buried drums or
containers.
- Soil or covering material must be removed with caution to
prevent drum or container rupture.
- Fire extinguishing equipment meeting the requirements of 29
CFR Part 1910, Subpart L, must be on hand and ready for use to control incipient fires.
- Opening drums and containers. The following procedures must
be followed in areas where drums or containers are being opened:
- Where an airline respirator system is used, connections to
the source of air supply must be protected from contamination and the entire system must
be protected from physical damage.
- Employees not actually involved in opening drums or
containers must be kept a safe distance from the drums or containers being opened.
- If employees must work near or adjacent to drums or
containers being opened, a suitable shield that does not interfere with the work operation
must be placed between the employee and the drums or containers being opened to protect
the employee in case of accidental explosion.
- Controls for drum or container opening equipment, monitoring
equipment, and fire suppression equipment must be located behind the explosion-resistant
barrier.
- When there is a reasonable possibility of flammable
atmospheres being present, material handling equipment and hand tools must be of the type
to prevent sources of ignition.
- Drums and containers must be opened in such a manner that
excess interior pressure will be safely relieved. If pressure cannot be relieved from a
remote location, appropriate shielding must be placed between the employee and the drums
or containers to reduce the risk of employee injury.
- Employees must not stand upon or work from drums or
containers.
- Material handling equipment used to transfer drums and
containers must be selected, positioned and operated to minimize sources of ignition
related to the equipment from igniting vapors released from ruptured drums or containers.
- Drums and containers containing radioactive wastes must not
be handled until such time as their hazard to employees is properly assessed.
- At a minimum, the following special precautions must be
taken when drums and containers containing or suspected of containing shock-sensitive
wastes are handled:
- All non-essential employees must be evacuated from the area
of transfer.
- Material handling equipment must be provided with explosive
containment devices or protective shields to protect equipment operators from exploding
containers.
- An employee alarm system capable of being perceived above
surrounding light and noise conditions must be used to signal the commencement and
completion of explosive waste handling activities.
- Continuous communications (i.e., portable radios, hand
signals, telephones, as appropriate) must be maintained between the employee-in-charge of
the immediate handling area and both the site safety and health supervisor and the command
post until such time as the handling operation is completed. Communication equipment or
methods that could cause shock sensitive materials to explode must not be used.
- Drums and containers under pressure, as evidenced by bulging
or swelling, must not be moved until such time as the cause for excess pressure is
determined and appropriate containment procedures have been implemented to protect
employees from explosive relief of the drum.
- Drums and containers containing packaged laboratory wastes
must be considered to contain shock-sensitive or explosive materials until they have been
characterized.
- At a minimum, the following precautions must be taken in
handling laboratory waste packs:
- Laboratory waste packs must be opened only when necessary
and then only by an individual knowledgeable in the inspection, classification, and
segregation of the containers within the pack according to the hazards of the wastes.
- If crystalline material is noted on any container, the
contents must be handled as a shock-sensitive waste until the contents are identified.
- Sampling of containers and drums must be done in accordance
with a sampling procedure which is part of the site safety and health plan developed for
and available to employees and others at the specific work site.
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Regulations Pertinent to Drums
