SLIDES

1. Environmental safety is usually divided into three subcategories:

Occupational safety and Health Programs, Environmental Control, and
Chemical Safety.
2. Chemical Hazards and Toxic Substances
3. Top Management Support
4. Hazard Identification and Assessment
5. Employee participation
6. Employer and worker’s safety training and education
7. Hazard prevention and control
8. Water pollution effects from mining require environmental
characterization.
9. Choosing the Right Local Structural Engineering Services
10.Jackpile-Paguate Uranium Mine
Environmental Safety
Environmental safety is defined by the guidance, policies, and practices
enforced in order to ensure that the surrounding environment is free from
hazards that will warrant the safety and well-being of workers and employees,
residents near industrial operations, as well as the prevention of accidental
environmental damage. The surrounding areas include industrial facilities,
work areas, and laboratories. Environmental safety is a crucial issue for any
industrial activity as negligence and non-compliance heighten the risk
resulting in injuries, illnesses, and accidental environmental releases.

With the aim to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for working
employees, the United States Congress has passed the Occupational Health
and Safety Act (OSHA) of 1970, to enforce health and safety standards and to
educate and train employers and employees to observe and comply with the
developed policies and guidance.

The following outlines OSHA’s role in preventing unwanted injuries and

diseases that will render a person’s impairment of health or functional capacity
from occupational exposure to hazards, as well as its part in identifying unsafe
practices, and addressing workplace safety issues.

 OSHA is responsible for ensuring that workplace safety and health

programs are implemented, and employers abide by its regulations.
 OSHA sets safety and health programs whereby facilities and
establishments must prepare its Environment Health and Safety (EHS)
program, provide necessary training to its employees and staff, conduct
inspections, tests, monitoring, and audits, and create a filing and record-
keeping system for these activities.
 OSHA is responsible for establishing and enforcing federal and state
inspectors.
 OSHA organizes public education and consultation forums and
seminars as well as the provision of safety information materials
availability
Environmental safety is usually divided into three
subcategories: Occupational safety and Health Programs,
Environmental Control, and Chemical Safety.
Personal injuries and illnesses resulting from work-related operations and
situations impose a hindrance to a person’s ability to become productive. An
injured or disabled employee carries the burden of medical expenses and
wage loss. It also translates to the company and the state’s economic loss.
For this reason, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Program is strictly
implemented for businesses that handle hazardous chemicals, fumes, and
emissions and wastes.

Environmental control is another aspect of environmental safety that deals

with the management and proper disposal of pollutants and other sources of
threat to the environment. Environmental controls include engineering and
administrative control solutions to minimize hazard exposure through
inhalation, skin and eye contact, ingestion, and injection.

The following are some examples of general environmental controls for

facilities:

 Safety color codes for pipes and cans

 Marking hazards
 Provision of safety signs (Danger,
 Caution, and Instruction signs)
Lockout/Tag-out (LO/TO)
 Provision of sanitation facilities

In managing workplace hazards, the following are processes for controlling

exposure that poses health and safety risks. The hierarchy of control is ranked
from the highest reliability and efficiency to the lowest.

Elimination of the hazard – total elimination of the hazard is the most

preferred and effective solution to control risks and hazards.

Substitution – reduce manual exertion on tools with power tools, reduce

heavy items with light ones, substitute a harmful chemical with another
chemical that is less or not hazardous e.g., no lead paint, natural pesticides,
water detergent solutions
Engineering controls -design of systems or modification of an existing layout
or process that will reduce exposure to hazards

 Process controls-electric motors over diesel engines, wet method

drilling over dry method, automation and remote control
 Isolation or enclosure-physical barriers that keep the risk and the worker
away from coming into contact with each other
 Ventilation-removes or dilutes air contaminants to avoid its dispersion at
workstations

Administrative controls – work practices and standard operating procedures

that can alter how and when the work is done.

 Access restriction,
 Scheduled machinery maintenance,
 Job rotation to limit exposure
 Personal hygiene

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – PPE is the last line of defense but
must not be the only method to reduce exposure. PPE includes eye
protection, face shields, footwear, and gloves.

Chemical safety is another environmental safety concern that primarily

focuses on ensuring that hazardous chemicals are properly stored, used, and
disposed of. Businesses must be aware of the chemical safety regulations, as
it not only saves lives and preserves the environment, but also prevents
regulatory penalties and fines for non-compliance.
Chemical Hazards and Toxic Substances

1. Toxins
1. Acute-short term toxins
2. Chronic-long term toxins
2. Irritants-chemicals that cause irritation of the skin and eyes
3. Sensitizers-changes proteins
4. Tumorogen-causes tumor growth
5. Mutagen-substances capable of altering genes with generational impact
6. Teratogen-alter fetuses, non-generational impact
7. Reactive chemicals-chemicals that react violently upon contact
8. Corrosives
1. Acids
2. Bases
9. Combustible or
1. Flammable materials
2. Combustible-solid, liquid, and gas
3. Flammable=solid, liquid, and gas
4. Pyrophoric-gases capable of instantaneous ignition

In order to implement a feasible environmental safety program, the following

are recommended core elements:

Top Management Support

The direction to commit to EHS programs and to continually improve its

mechanism must start from top management. The program’s responsibilities,
objectives, and expectations must be defined by top management, who
should also allocate the appropriate resources for the implementation of the
program and communicate the plan to employees. Management leadership
encompasses owners, managers, and supervisors who create a culture that is
safety centered and who are the first to reinforce these elements.

Hazard Identification and Assessment

A facility must establish the procedures required to identify workplace hazards

and evaluate existing risks for routine, non-routine, and feasible emergency
situations. Once hazards and risks are identified, employee exposure level
and existing control measures must be assessed. A plan of how periodic
inspections are implemented and how new threats are identified must also be
strategized.
Employee participation

Employee participation in the EHS program is an essential part of its

successful implementation, from EHS planning, creating goals and objectives,
reporting risks and hazards, monitoring, up to the incident investigation.

Employer and worker’s safety training and education

Employer’s managers must be trained and informed on safety concepts, their

role in the implementation of it, and their responsibility of protecting the
worker’s welfare at all times. All workers must be trained on how the safety
program works, their participation in it, and the skill to identify and recognize
risks and hazards.

Hazard prevention and control

This process entails the identification and selection of the methods that will be
used in preventing, eliminating, and controlling workplace hazards. Controls
must follow a hierarchy of engineering solutions first, then safe practices,
administrative controls, and personal protective equipment.
Evaluation and Improvement
The implemented control measures must be evaluated periodically to check
for their efficiency. The process by which the program is monitored must be
established along with the metrics used to verify the implementation of the
program and identification of opportunities for improvement.
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) are
guidelines provided and updated by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) that focuses on the regulation of dangerous and
hazardous substances and wastes and the provision of emergency responses
within the United States. It is developed for workers that have direct exposure
to the hazard and are in charge of the storage, clean-up, treatment, and
disposal of hazardous materials. The HAZWOPER standard is aimed to
protect the workers and to ensure safety and efficacy in handling dangerous
materials by providing information and training for employees as required by
OSHA.

HAZWOPER is applied to the following employers involved in the

performance of the following:

1. Cleanup operations on hazardous waste site as required by a

government body (federal, state, or local)
2. Corrective actions for Resource
3. Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) recovered sites
4. Voluntary cleanup initiatives by a government body (federal, state, or
local)
5. Operations related to the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous
substances and wastes
6. Emergency response to the accidental release of hazardous substances
that poses a significant immediate threat to the worker’s health and
safety.