For Immediate Release
Tuesday, May 21, 1996
AFSCME to Provide Safety and Health Training To D.C. Water and Sewer Authority Employees
Washington, DC —The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, under a new agreement with District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DCWASA), will provide training to employees who may be exposed to hazardous waste in the course of their jobs. The training, which is required under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard, is provided by AFSCME in conjunction with universities and other training centers.
OSHA's Hazardous Waste Standard regulates the health and safety of workers who may be involved in emergency responses to incidents involving hazardous substances, chemicals or infectious wastes. Employees covered by the standard include highway and street workers, water and wastewater treatment plant workers, and health care and sanitation workers, and other employees working around large quantities of chemicals that could spill or leak. Requirements of the OSHA Hazardous Waste Standard include:
- An emergency response plan, to handle anticipated emergencies prior to starting emergency response operations;
- Procedures for handling an emergency response;
- Training, such as that being provided by AFSCME to DCWASA employees;
- Medical surveillance and consultation, for any worker involved in an emergency response who exhibits symptoms that may have been caused by exposure to hazardous materials;
- Chemical protective clothing for members of hazardous materials response teams;
- Post-emergency response operations to conduct clean-up activities after the completion of an emergency response.
Amos Sharp, president of AFSCME Local 2091, which represents DCWASA employees, said the training agreement was a crucial step in assuring employees' health and safety. "Hazardous waste includes more than just chemicals that need to be disposed of," Sharp said. "Millions of tons of toxic chemicals are produced, transported and used in this country every day. Many of these chemicals are spilled on highways, leaked in workplaces, poured in sewer systems or illegally dumped. And many of them pose a threat not only to public employees who are exposed to them, but also the to the general public."
Possible health effects from exposure to hazardous waste include heart and lung diseases, infectious diseases, cancer, kidney and liver damage, sterility, brain and nerve damage, burns and rashes.
"The training being offered to these employees as a result of this agreement is among the most comprehensive programs of its kind being offered anywhere," said Jordan Barab, AFSCME's assistant director of Health and Safety. "We take the safety of our members -- and of all public employees who must respond to emergency situations -- very seriously, and we're very happy to provide this training to DCWASA employees."
Barab said the training includes procedures for "first responders," those public workers who witness or discover an emergency and initiate a response sequence. In addition, workers will be trained to conduct initial emergency responses for: protecting nearby persons, property or the environment; containing the release of hazardous materials from a safe distance; and preventing harmful exposure to hazardous materials. Additional training is available on a limited basis for employees who are involved in actual clean-up of hazardous materials, or who work in hazardous waste sites.
