• Besides hazardous substance exposure, potential health hazards at a worksite include heat and cold, radiation, and noise.

While much attention is focused on safety hazards, health hazards are a real concern as well. Employees who work at hazardous waste cleanup sites or respond to emergency releases of hazardous substances may be exposed to health hazards.

One health hazard found in these two operations (hazardous waste cleanup and emergency response) is exposure to hazardous substances. It’s possible to be exposed to a hazardous substance and not even be aware of it because some substances are odorless and colorless. The first indication of the presence of these substances might be the employee feeling the effects of exposure. The trouble is the effects from some substances might not show up right away.

Besides exposure to hazardous substances, other potential health hazards include, but are not limited to:

• Heat stress
• Cold exposure
• Biologic hazards
• Ionizing radiation
• Oxygen deficiency
• Noise

With so many health hazards, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) Standard requires covered employers to perform medical surveillance and, for cleanup operations, have a written medical surveillance program in place.

Besides being required, medical surveillance is performed for many reasons, including:

• To diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses early;
• To establish an employee’s baseline medical condition;
• To assess an employee’s fitness for duty, including the ability to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and chemical protective clothing (CPC);
• To document exposures and medical conditions;
• To detect and eliminate hazards and exposures contributing to health problems; and
• To ensure emergency and non-emergency treatment is provided.