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Waste & RecyclingSite Control and Work Zones
Twenty flashcards on the site control program, the site map and the three work zones of a hazardous waste site, from the federal rule and the federal guidance manual.
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20 cards
- When must site control procedures be in place?
- Before clean-up work begins, to control employee exposure to hazardous substances.
- When is the site control program written?
- During the planning stages of the clean-up, and it is updated as new information comes in.
- Minimum elements of the site control program?
- Site map, work zones, buddy system, site communications with emergency alerts, safe work practices, and the nearest medical help.
- What is the purpose of site control?
- To keep contamination of workers to a minimum, protect the public from site hazards and prevent vandalism.
- What does the site map show?
- Terrain, prevailing wind direction, drainage, and where buildings, containers, impoundments, pits, ponds and tanks are.
- The three frequently used work zones?
- Exclusion Zone (contaminated), Contamination Reduction Zone (where decontamination happens) and Support Zone (clean).
- Names the federal rule's compliance guide gives the work zones?
- Clean zone, transition or decontamination zone, and work or hot zone.
- What is the Hotline?
- The outer boundary of the Exclusion Zone.
- How is the Hotline marked?
- With lines, placards, hazard tape or signs, or closed off with chains, fences or ropes.
- What do Access Control Points do?
- They regulate people and equipment going into and out of the zone and help check that entry and exit steps are followed.
- Main work done in the Exclusion Zone?
- Site characterization (mapping, photos, sampling), installing groundwater monitoring wells, and clean-up such as moving and staging drums.
- Can protection levels differ inside the Exclusion Zone?
- Yes, by job: sampling open containers might need Level B, while a walk-through air check might need only Level C.
- What is the Contamination Reduction Zone?
- The transition area between the contaminated and clean areas, which keeps the Support Zone from getting contaminated.
- Where does decontamination take place in that zone?
- In the Contamination Reduction Corridor, starting at the Hotline, with at least two lines: one for people and one for heavy equipment.
- What is the Contamination Control Line?
- The boundary between the Contamination Reduction Zone and the clean Support Zone.
- What happens in the Support Zone?
- Administration and support; the Command Post Supervisor is there, and people may wear normal work clothes.
- Where should Support Zone facilities go?
- Upwind of the Exclusion Zone if possible, with line-of-sight to its activities, and as far from it as practical.
- What is kept in the Support Zone for emergencies?
- All emergency phone numbers, evacuation route maps and vehicle keys.
- Sample standing orders for the Exclusion Zone?
- No smoking, eating, drinking, cosmetics, matches or lighters; check in and out at the control points; always keep your buddy with you.
- May site visitors enter the Exclusion Zone?
- Only if trained, fit-tested and medically approved for respirator use; the rest watch from the clean area, for example with binoculars.
Official sources
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), via GovInfo (GPO)
29 CFR 1910.120: Hazardous waste operations and emergency response (CFR 2025 edition)
NIOSH, OSHA, U.S. Coast Guard and EPA, via osha.gov
Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities (NIOSH 85-115, 1985)
Making Synapses is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by OSHA, NIOSH, EPA or any HAZWOPER training provider. Agency and rule names are named only to describe the content.