May 13, 1992
Mr. Joseph A. Gispanski, Jr.
Hygiene, Safety and Training, Inc.
Post Office Box 837
Kittanning, Pennsylvania 16201-0837
Dear Mr. Gispanski:
This is in response to your inquiry of March
3, concerning the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazardous
Waste Operations and Emergency Response final
rule (HAZWOPER), 29 CFR 1910.120.
We will address your questions in the
order that you asked them:
-
After completing a 40-hour hazardous waste
training course, an employee wishes to take
both the 8-hour refresher course and the
8-hour supervisory course the very next year,
must this employee complete 16 hours of training
to satisfy this requirement? If no, why?
In general, OSHA would expect a general hazardous
waste site worker who is becoming a supervisor
or manager to receive at least 16 hours of
training the year they become a supervisor:
8 hours of supervisory training in addition
to 8 hours of employee refresher training.
Employers are given sole flexibility
in developing the best approach for training
their employees. OSHA recognizes that there
may be some overlap in the objectives of
the training for supervisors and the refresher
training, and we do not expect a duplication
of effort. Employees may also critique incidents
that have occurred in the past year as part
of their employee or supervisory refresher
training. In the final analysis, though,
the employer must demonstrate that all topics
required to be covered are conveyed to employees.
-
Besides the 40-hour hazardous waste training
course, is there any other prerequisite for
employees who wish to complete the 8-hour
supervisory training course?
HAZWOPER requires that supervisors and managers
be trained and given supervised field experience
to at least the level of the employees who
they will oversee, and have at least eight
additional hours of specialized training
on the topics listed in (e)(4). Training
courses must cover the provisions listed
in paragraph (e) as a minimum; further site
specific training may be necessary. Paragraph
(e) stipulates that "employees shall
not be permitted to participate in or supervise
field activities until they have been trained
to a level required by their job function
and responsibility." In other words,
employees must be instructed in the procedures
they will be expected to perform, and informed
of the safety and health risks of those procedures,
before they begin work.
We hope this information is helpful.
If you have any further questions please
feel free to contact us at (202) 523-8036.
Sincerely,
Patricia Clark, Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs
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