Procedures for Special Waste Clause Samples

Procedures for Special Waste. Hazardous wastes are wastes with characteristics either physical or chemical that could harm human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes are illegal to dispose of in a Landfill. The Landfill employees who are dealing with the waste that enters the Landfill shall have WHMIS training, be aware of references available to them ie. (M.S.D.S.), be aware of P.P.E. needed and the steps taken for emergency response if needed. Personnel working at the MRF and the working face should be able to identify suspicious wastes based on visual characteristics. Some indications are: (a) hazardous placarding or markings – (b) liquids – (c) powders or dusts – (d) sludges – (e) bright or unusual colors – (f) drums or commercial size containers = “chemical” type odors. If a suspicious waste is found the Landfill personnel should segregate that waste so other people do not come in contact with it. Depending on the situation either move it with a loader to isolate 13 the waste or in a worst case scenario, barricade off the area, calculate in the wind direction if any toxic dust or smell is detected, then shut down that cell if any odors are blowing back to the tipping area, redirect Landfill traffic to another cell. In the MRF, open the doors on the east and west side and leave the fans on If contact cannot be done by two-way radio to a Supervisor, explain the situation and a decision will be made whether a “911 call” is needed at this point or not, also if Manitoba Environment should be called. If the driver (who disposed the hazardous waste) is still on site then question him to see if a source of the hazardous product can be determined. If so, then that company will have to be contacted for they still will be responsible for their product. Any Landfill employee with proper training (WHMIS) and using proper P.P.E. that identifies a hazardous waste is the first responder. His job will be to contact management personnel and emergency response team and to make sure that nobody comes in contact or even comes close to a hazardous area until help arrives. He/she then may be assigned to other tasks to assist and remember any detail that may be used for information in an incident report.