Staging - Staging Areas Details

OSHA provides for each of these areas.

Opening area:

• Employers must situate this area safely away from the original waste disposal or storage site (and away from all other staging areas). This prevents a chain reaction of explosions in the event of a fire or explosion.
• During emergency tasks, a separate sampling area may be set up at some distance from the opening area. This will help to reduce the number of people in the opening area. This will also help to limit the potential casualties in case of an explosion.

Second staging area (also known as a holding area):

• Do not place unsealed drums with unknown contents in the second staging area. (This is in case they contain incompatible materials.) Instead, remove the contents.

Final staging area (also known as a bulking area):

• Set up the final staging area as close as possible to the site's exit.
• Grade the area and cover it with plastic sheeting. Construct approximately 1-foot-high dikes around the entire area.
• Separate drums according to their basic chemical categories (such as acids, heavy metals, pesticides). Remember that their contents were already determined through the process of characterization.
• Construct separate areas for each type of waste present. This helps to minimize the potential of incompatible chemicals mixing during the bulking process.

To learn more about HAZWOPER visit our HAZWOPER 40 Hour Online Training web page.