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Waste & RecyclingPlacing the decontamination area

Decontamination is done where it keeps contaminated workers and equipment from exposing the ones that are clean. On the site map, the decontamination area sits in the transition zone, between the hot zone and the clean zone, with showers and change rooms outside the contaminated area when they are needed. It follows paragraph (k)(3) and Appendix C of the federal HAZWOPER rule.

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Scenarios

  • Setting up the decontamination line at the start of a clean-up.
  • Washing facilities for workers handling substances that may be harmful.
  • A site where the showers and change rooms cannot stand where exposures are below the limits.

The steps

  1. Mark the decontamination area on the site map, in the transition zone, or decontamination zone.
  2. Place it between the hot zone and the clean zone.
  3. Choose a place that keeps uncontaminated workers and equipment from being exposed to contaminated ones.
  4. Put the showers and change rooms outside the contaminated area when the decontamination procedure needs them.
  5. Place the showers and change rooms where exposures are below the permissible exposure limits and published exposure levels; if that is not possible, add ventilation that supplies air below them.
  6. Set up washing facilities near the worksite, in an area below the exposure limits and under the employer's control, equipped so workers can remove hazardous substances from themselves.
  7. Divide the change rooms in two areas separated by the showers: one with the exit to the worksite, and a clean one with the exit off the worksite.

Safety rules that stop the station

  • During decontamination, clean workers and equipment are kept apart from contaminated ones.

To pass

  • Decontamination performed in areas that minimize the exposure of uncontaminated workers and equipment.
  • The decontamination procedures and area are part of the site safety and control plan.
  • Showers and change rooms meet 29 CFR 1910.141.

Official source

Federal · OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.120 (HAZWOPER)

29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER)

GovInfo publishes 29 CFR 1910.120 free: paragraph (k)(3) sets where decontamination is done and paragraph (n) the washing facilities, showers and change rooms.

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.

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