U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/58975/
OSHA Issues Standard Interpretation on 'Sludge Exempt' Regulations
Background
Contrary to the popular image of fresh air and peaceful surroundings, a farm is not a hazard-free work setting. Every
year, thousands of farm workers are injured and hundreds more die in farming accidents. According to the National
Safety Council, agriculture is the most hazardous industry in the nation. Two potential OSHA sludge hazards are
organic dust and chemicals.
Under section 1910.120, "Health hazard means a chemical, mixture of chemicals or a pathogen for which there is
statistically significant evidence based on at least one study conducted in accordance with established scientific
principles that acute or chronic health effects may occur in exposed employees. The term ‘‘health hazard’’ includes
chemicals which are carcinogens, toxic or highly toxic agents, reproductive toxins, irritants, corrosives, sensitizers,
heptaotoxins, nephrotoxins, neurotoxins, agents which act on the hematopoietic system, and agents which damage the
lungs, skin, eyes, or mucous membranes. It also includes stress due to temperature extremes. Further definition
of the terms used above can be found in appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.1200." EPA acknowledged some of the health
hazards in 1989 for chemicals and disease organisms and in part 503.9(t) for pollutants.
Hazmat See RCRA for definition of hazardous waste
If sludge is not considered to be a normal application of fertilizer under
CERCLA, it is a solid waste loaded with (33) “pollutants or contaminants”
The level of part 503 nine pollutants (CERCLA hazardous substances)
disqualifies it as a fertilizer.
OSHA Issues Standard Interpretation on 'Sludge Exempt' Regulations
February 29, 2008
If sludge has a characteristic of hazardous waste but is not a solid waste when reclaimed, is it not hazardous waste,
after all? Which OSHA standards apply to workers handling such material, and what are the associated employer
obligations for employee hazard communication? Finally, if it's true that under EPA's Federal Sludge Exemption the
material is not hazardous waste, is the sludge exempt from OSHA's HazCom and HAZWOPER standards? In answer to
these questions, OSHA posted a Letter of Interpretation (LOI) on its Web site yesterday, saying, in a nutshell, that no
matter how EPA might classify the material, if it poses a physical or health hazard then, for compliance, the HazCom
and HAZWOPER standards will apply.
"It should be understood that just because a material is not classified by the EPA as a hazardous waste doesn't mean
that it is not hazardous from the standpoint of OSHA compliance," says the LOI, written by the Directorate of
Enforcement Programs Director Richard E. Fairfax. "[T]he HCS provides no exemption for materials that do not meet
the EPA definition of a hazardous waste.
"Therefore, if the sludge material meets the definition of a physical or health hazard as defined in the HCS, then the
HCS applies. OSHA has no way of knowing whether the material (sludge) meets this definition. Rather, it is the
chemical manufacturers' or importers' responsibility to make this determination and assess whether there is exposure,
or potential exposure, to workers."
Fairfax added that those who receive sludge should ask the supplier for a material safety data sheet for the product.
"Your supplier is required to conduct a hazard determination of the materials they are producing and communicate
that information on the MSDS for the material. Suppliers are also required to label the containers of the distributed
materials," he wrote.
Regarding specifically the HAZWOPER standard, the LOI notes that Section q of the standard covers emergency
response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of releases of, hazardous substances without regard to the
location and that, like the HazCom standard, its intent is to protect employees from exposure to the health and
physical hazards of hazardous substances. "The definition of 'hazardous substance' under Section (a)(3) of
HAZWOPER encompasses those substances defined as hazardous by the EPA and the U.S. Department of
Transportation, and includes four distinct categories (see 1910.120(a)(3)(A-D)). Only one of these categories
specifically refers to 'hazardous waste.' Therefore, the term hazardous substance covers a broad range of materials
including, but not limited to, hazardous waste," Fairfax wrote. The complete text of the LOI, asked and answered in
2005 but posted Feb. 28, 2008, is available on OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.
show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=25951.