Program Policy Manual - VOLUME V - Mine Safety and Health ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

MSHA PROGRAM POLICY MANUAL VOLUME V February 2003 (Release V-33) 1 GENERAL POLICIES AND PROGRAMS V.G-1 Reporting PCB Spills Under the authority of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that spills of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) be reported whenever the incident poses a substantial risk to human health or to the environment. PCBs have been shown to cause chronic toxic effects in many species even when they exist in very low concentrations. Welldocumented tests show that PCBs cause, among other things, reproductive failures, gastric disorders, skin lesions, and tumors in laboratory animals. Workers exposed to PCBs may show a number of symptoms and adverse effects including, but not limited to, chloracne and other epidermal disorders, digestive disturbances, jaundice, impotence, throat and respiratory irritations, and severe headaches. Spills in mines most commonly result from damage to transformers or capacitors containing PCB dielectric fluid. EPA assumes that a transformer or capacitor contains PCBs if: (1) the nameplate indicates it contains PCB dielectric fluid; or (2) the owner or operator has any reason to believe that it contains PCB dielectric fluid. If a transformer or capacitor does not have a nameplate, and there is no information to indicate the type of dielectric fluid in it, the transformer or capacitor is assumed to contain PCB fluid. PCB dielectric fluids may be listed under the following trade names: Askarel, Aroclor, Pydraul, therminal, Pyroclor, Santotherm, Pyralene, Pyranol, Inerteen, Asbestol, Chlorextol, Diachlor, Dykanol, Elemex, Hyvol, No-Flamol, Saf-T- Kuhl, Aroclor B, Chlorinol, Chlorphen, and Eucarel. As a general rule, EPA does not require that spills involving a single capacitor be reported unless PCBs threaten to enter a water-course. Minor leaks in transformers, such as bushing leaks or weeping, also do not require reporting. However, such spillage or leaking should be stopped and repaired as soon as possible. If a spill should occur at a mine, the mine operator's first priority should be to control the spread of the spill by damming or diking the leak. Any threat of contamination to water supplies should be given the highest priority. Appropriate personal protection (e.g., impermeable gloves, boots and aprons, goggles, and respirators) must be worn by persons cleaning up spills pursuant to applicable MSHA regulations.
MSHA PROGRAM POLICY MANUAL VOLUME V Once the spill is contained, clean-up measures can begin. All materials contaminated with PCBs, including soil and debris, should be collected, stored and disposed of in accordance with EPA regulations. Upon discovery of a PCB spill, the district manager shall be notified immediately. The procedures for handling spills are set forth in the MSHA Health Inspection Handbook. V.G-2 Operator Responsibility Over Customer Vehicles It is the responsibility of the operator of a mine to enforce mandatory safety standards on all vehicles entering the mine property. In the area of backup alarms on customer trucks, the requirement could be met in several ways, including the following: 1. Traffic patterns can be established to eliminate the need to backup. 2. Operator personnel can act as observers where trucks are required to backup. If the loading of customer trucks is being done in a hard hat area, it is the responsibility of the operator to see that all persons in the area wear hard hats. If hard hats are not available to the customer personnel, the following options will meet the requirement of the standard: 1. Rules can be established that while loading, the customer truck drivers must stay in their truck cabs if the cabs are protected by canopies; or 2. If the customer truck drivers must get out of their cabs, designated safe areas must be provided. However, the policy is not applicable to independent contractors performing services on mine property. V.G-3 Suspected "Foul Play" Felonies It is MSHA's policy to cooperate with state and local law enforcement officials in all circumstances where a felony violating state or local law is suspected. If, in the course of an inspection or investigation, there is reason to believe that foul play has occurred (for example, a death or an injury of suspicious cause or a fire of suspicious origin), the following procedures should be followed: February 2003 (Release V-33) 2
Page 1 and 2: MSHA PROGRAM POLICY MANUAL VOLUME V
Page 15: MSHA PROGRAM POLICY MANUAL VOLUME V
Page 67 and 68:
MSHA PROGRAM POLICY MANUAL VOLUME V
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
MSHA PROGRAM POLICY MANAUL VOLUME V
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
show all

Program Policy Manual - VOLUME V - Mine Safety and Health ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?