At a Superfund site, it is planned that buried drums containing a volatile waste solvent will be excavated and sent to a hazardous waste disposal site. The drums are known to have leaked and samples of the surrounding soils confirm that the soil and groundwater are contaminated with the solvent. After the drums are extracted and sent for disposition to a hazardous waste treatment facility, environmental engineers install a soil vapor extraction system to strip out the spilled solvent.
Recall the Unit IV Lesson on the impact of hazardous waste on the natural environment and your Unit IV PowerPoint assignment addressing a hazardous waste scenario to the community. Also, refer to the Unit V Lesson on methods for mitigating the environmental impact of hazardous waste and the Unit V Essay assignment. The need to address how hazardous waste affects the environment and human health is paramount as you formulate a safety and health plan.
Develop a safety program that includes a safety and health plan that can be given to a site project team to implement. Refer to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration documents in the Unit VII Lesson Suggested Reading as a guide in formulating your safety and health plan. The safety and health plan should cover the excavation and loading of the leaking drums onto a truck, the setup of a soil vapor extraction system, and the operation of the extraction system for an estimated 15 years. You should address how to mitigate the exposure to employees and visitors and protect human health from the adverse impacts of this hazardous waste. Also, develop ways to protect the environment and local community from the hazardous waste to minimize release into the environment.