Site control (Safety Management)

 SITE CONTROL

The purpose of site control is to minimize potential contamination of workers, protect the public from the site's hazards. Site control is especially important in emergency situations.

Several site control procedures can be implemented to reduce worker and public exposure to chemical, physical, biologic, and safety hazards:

1.  Compile a site map.
2.  Prepare the site for subsequent activities.
3.  Establish work zones.
4.  Use the buddy system when necessary.
5.  Establish and strictly enforce decontamination procedures for both personnel and equipment. 
6.  Establish site security measures.
7.  Set up communication networks.
8.  Enforce safe work practices.

Site Map

A site map showing topographic features, prevailing wind direction, drainage, and the location of buildings, containers, impoundments, pits, ponds, and tanks is helpful in:

•  Planning activities.
•  Assigning personnel.
•  Identifying access routes, evacuation routes, and problem areas.
•  Identifying areas of the site that require use of personal protective equipment.
•  Supplementing the daily safety and health briefings of the field teams.

The map should be prepared prior to site entry and updated throughout the course of site operations to

reflect:

•  Accidents.
•  Changes in site activities.
•  Emergencies.
•  Hazards not previously identified.
•  New materials introduced on site.
•  Weather conditions.

Overlays can be used to help portray information without cluttering the map.

Site preparations

Time and effort must be spent in preparing a site for the cleanup activity to ensure that response operations go smoothly and that worker safety is protected. Site preparation can be as hazardous as site cleanup. Therefore, safety measures should be afforded the same level of care at this stage as during actual cleanup.

• Construct roadways to provide ease of access and a sound roadbed for heavy equipment and vehicles.
• Arrange traffic flow patterns to ensure safe and efficient operations.
• Eliminate physical hazards from the work area as much as possible, including:

1. Ignition sources in flammable hazard areas.
2. Exposed or ungrounded electrical wiring, and low overhead wiring that may entangle equipment.
3. Sharp or protruding edges, such as glass, nails, and torn metal, which can puncture protective
4. Clothing and equipment and inflict puncture wounds.
5. Debris, holes, loose steps or flooring, protruding objects, slippery surfaces, or unsecured railings,
6. Which can cause falls, slips, and trips.
7. Unsecured objects, such as bricks and gas cylinders, near the edges of elevated surfaces, such as catwalks, roof tops, and scaffolding, which may dislodge and fall on workers.
8. Debris and weeds that obstruct visibility.

• Install skid-resistant strips and other anti-skid devices on slippery surfaces.
• Construct operation pads for mobile facilities and temporary structures.
• Construct loading docks, processing and staging areas, and decontamination pads.
• Provide adequate illumination for work activities. Equip temporary lights with guards to prevent accidental contact.
• Install all wiring and electrical equipment in accordance with Local regulations.

Site Work Zones

To reduce the accidental spread of hazardous substances by workers from the contaminated area to the clean area, zones should be delineated on the site where different types of operations will occur, and the flow of personnel among the zones should be controlled. The establishment of work zones will help ensure that: personnel are properly protected against the hazards present where they are working, work activities and contamination are confined to the appropriate areas, and personnel can be located and evacuated in an emergency.

The Buddy System

Most activities in contaminated or otherwise hazardous areas should be conducted with a buddy who is able to:

•  Provide his or her partner with assistance.
•  Observe his or her partner for signs of chemical or heat exposure.
•  Periodically check the integrity of his or her partner's protective clothing.
•  Notify the Command Post Supervisor or others if emergency help is needed.

The buddy system alone may not be sufficient to ensure that help will be provided in an emergency. At all times, workers should be in line-of-sight contact or communications contact with the Supervisor.

Site Security

Site security is necessary to:

1. Prevent the exposure of unauthorized, unprotected people to site hazards.
2. Avoid the increased hazards from vandals or persons seeking to abandon other wastes on the site.
3. Prevent theft.
4. Avoid interference with safe working procedures.

To maintain site security during working hours:

1. Maintain security in the Support Zone and at Access Control Points.
2. Establish an identification system to identify authorized persons and limitations to their approved activities.
3. Assign responsibility for enforcing authority for entry and exit requirements.
4. Erect a fence or other physical barrier around the site.
5. If the site is not fenced, post signs around the perimeter and use guards to patrol the perimeter. Guards must be fully apprised of the hazards involved and trained in emergency procedures.

Communication Systems

Two sets of communication systems should be established: internal communication among personnel on site, and external communication between onsite and offsite personnel.

Internal communication is used to:

• Alert team members to emergencies.
• Pass along safety information, such as the amount of air time left before the next rest period, air change, heat stress check, etc.
• Communicate changes in the work to be accomplished.
• Maintain site control.

An external communication system between onsite and offsite personnel is necessary to:

• Coordinate emergency response.
• Report to management.
• Maintain contact with essential offsite personnel.

Types of communication devices:

Radio (to be used which are intrinsically safe as per zone catrgorized).

• Citizen's band
• FM

Noisemakers, including:

• Bell
• Compressed air horn
• Megaphone
• Siren
• Whistle

Visual signals, including:

• Flag
• Flares or smoke (not for all types of working zones)
• Hand signals
• Lights
• Signal board
• Whole body movements

Safe working Practices

To maintain a strong safety awareness and enforce safe procedures at a site, a list of standing orders should be developed which state the practices that must always be followed and those that must never occur in the hazardous areas on site. Separate standing orders should be developed for the Hazardous Zone and for the zones if the hazards are sufficiently different.  To Ensure that everyone who enters the site is aware of these orders and that a high degree of familiarity with their content is maintained, the list should be:

• Distributed to everyone who enters the site.
• Posted conspicuously at the Command Post.
• Posted conspicuously at the entrance Access Control Points into the hazardous Zone and other zones.
• Reviewed by the Field Team Leader or Project Team Leader with the field crew at the beginning of each workday. In this way, personnel are immediately informed of any new standing orders resulting from a change in site conditions or work activities.

In addition to the standing orders, a hazardous substance information form that lists the names and properties of chemicals present on site should be prepared and posted conspicuously. Employees should be briefed on the chemical information at the beginning of the project or whenever they first join the work team. Daily safety meetings should be held for all employees.

Sample standing orders:

For Personnel Entering the Hazardous Zone:

• No smoking, eating, drinking, or application of cosmetics in this zone.
• No matches or lighters in this zone.
• Check in at the entrance Access Control Point before you enter this zone.
• Check out at the exit Access Control Point before you enter this zone.

For Personnel Entering this Zone:

• No smoking, eating, drinking, or application of cosmetics in this zone.
• No matches or lighters in this zone.
• Check in at the entrance Access Control Point before you enter this zone.
• Check out at the exit Access Control Point before you enter this zone.
• Always have your buddy with you in this zone.
• Wear an SCBA in this zone.
• If you discover any signs of radioactivity, explosivity, or unusual conditions such as dead animals at the site, exit immediately and report this finding to your supervisor.

Tool Safety:

Working with tools and heavy equipment is a major hazard at sites. Injuries can result from equipment hitting or running over personnel, impacts from flying objects, burns from hot objects, and damage to protective equipment such as supplied-air respirator systems. The following precautions will help preclude injuries due to such hazards:

1. Train personnel in proper operating procedures.
2. Install adequate onsite roads, signs, lights, and devices.
3. Install appropriate equipment guards and engineering controls on tools and equipment. These include rollover protective structures, seat belts, emergency shutoff in case of rollover, and backup warning lights and signals.
4. Provide equipment such as cranes, derricks, and power shovels with signs saying "Unlawful to operate this equipment within 10 feet of all power lines."
5. Use equipment and tools that are intrinsically safe and not capable of sparking, and pneumatically and hydraulically driven equipment.
6. Where portable electric tools and appliances can be used, (i.e., where there is no potential for flammable or explosive conditions), use three-wire grounded extension cords to prevent electric shocks.
7. In hydraulic power tools, use fire-resistant fluid that is capable of retaining its operating characteristics at the most extreme temperatures.
8. At the start of each workday, inspect brakes, hydraulic lines, light signals, fire extinguishers, fluid levels, steering, and splash protection.
9. Keep all non-essential people out of the work area.
10. Prohibit loose-fitting clothing or loose long hair around moving machinery.
11. Keep cabs free of all non-essential items and secure all loose items.
12. Do not exceed the rated load capacity of a vehicle.
13. Instruct equipment operators to report to their supervisor(s) any abnormalities such as equipment failure, oozing liquids, unusual odors, etc.
14. When an equipment operator must negotiate in tight quarters, provide a second person to ensure adequate clearance.
15. Have a signalman direct backing as necessary.
16. All onsite internal combustion engines should have spark arrestors that meet requirements for hazardous atmospheres. Refuel in safe areas. Do not fuel engines while vehicle is running. Prohibit ignition sources near a fuel area.
17. Lower all blades and buckets to the ground and set parking brakes before shutting off the vehicle.
18. Implement an ongoing maintenance program for all tools and equipment. Inspect all tools and moving equipment regularly to ensure that parts are secured and intact with no evidence of cracks or areas of weakness, that the equipment turns smoothly with no evidence of wobble, and that it is operating according to manufacturer's specifications. Promptly repair or replace any defective items. Keep maintenance and repair logs.
19. Store tools in clean, secure areas so that they will not be damaged, lost, or stolen.
20. Keep all heavy equipment that is used in the Exclusion Zone in that zone until the job is done.
21. Completely decontaminate such equipment before moving it into the clean zone.