Evaluating Exposure to Hazardous Waste

Evaluating exposure of employees to hazardous waste is important for a variety of reasons. First, it allows employers to determine the level of safety on work sites and whether their selected PPE and operations procedures are effective. Second, evaluating exposure helps ensure the health and safety of employees. There are two main ways to evaluate exposure: by surface evaluation and by air evaluation.

Employers should periodically conduct monitoring for both surface and air contamination, particularly when the following situations occur:

• Work begins on a different portion of the site
• Workers are starting to handle new or different contaminants
• A markedly different type of operation is initiated (such as opening a barrel as opposed to exploratory well drilling)
• Workers are handling leaking drums or working in areas with obvious liquid contamination

To learn more about Hazardous Waste visit our Hazardous Waste Safety Online Training web page.