• Drums that may be shock-sensitive or explosive should be handled with particular care, including movement-signaling alarms and continuous communication among site personnel.
• Leaking, open, or deteriorated drums should be moved to an overpack using a drum grappler.

Some drums require special precautions. For instance, any drums that have levels of radiation above background radiation should not be handled until an expert such as a health physicist has been consulted. Other special precautions to take with certain drums relate to the following:

• Shock-sensitive or explosive drums — Employees should seek special assistance before handling drums containing explosive or shock-sensitive waste and use the following precautions:
  • Handle with extreme caution,
  • Ensure non-essential personnel are at a safe distance,
  • Use a drum grappler constructed for explosive containment,
  • Use an audible alarm to signal the start and end of handling activities,
  • Maintain continuous communication with the site safety officer or command post while handling, and
  • Palletize and secure drums prior to transport.
• Bulging drums — If possible, bulging or swelling drums should not be moved. Instead, the cause of the swelling should be determined (if possible) and containment procedures should be implemented to protect people from eruption of the drums. If a bulging drum must be moved, a drum grappler should be used, and the drum should be moved only as far as necessary to firm ground or placed in an overpack.
• Lab packs — Lab packs usually contain several different individual containers that are typically surrounded by absorbent cushioning material. The waste in lab packs should be considered explosive and shock-sensitive until proven otherwise through characterization. Not just anyone can open a lab pack. Lab packs can only be opened by personnel specially trained in the inspection, classification, and segregation of the containers within the pack. Hazards that may be encountered in lab packs include:
  • Incompatible materials
  • Radioisotopes
  • Shock-sensitive materials
  • Highly volatile materials
  • Highly corrosive materials
  • Very toxic chemicals
  Precautions to take when working with lab packs include:
  • Making sure non-essential personnel are at a safe distance;
  • Using a drum grappler for explosive containment;
  • Maintaining continuous communication with the Site Safety Officer or the command post while handling;
  • Having a chemist inspect, classify, and segregate the waste containers within the pack without opening them;
  • Packing the unopened smaller containers in drums with sufficient absorbent and cushioning material;
  • Treating the material as shock-sensitive if crystalline material is noted, and getting expert advice; and
  • Palletizing and securing repackaged drums prior to transport.
• Leaking, open, or deteriorated drums — A drum grappler should be used to place the following drums in overpacks:
  • Leaky drums containing sludge or semi-solid material,
  • Open drums containing liquid or solid waste, and
  • Deteriorated drums that can be moved without rupturing.
  If any of these leaky, open, or deteriorated drums contain liquids and cannot be moved, the contents should be pumped to a different drum using grounded equipment. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may require a site to transfer hazardous waste from a drum in poor condition to a sound container or otherwise manage the waste in some other way that complies with requirements.
• Buried drums — With ground-penetrating systems, once buried drums are located and their depth is known, the following precautions should be used:
  • Use a drum grappler, if possible;
  • Remove the soil with extreme caution; and
  • Have a dry chemical fire extinguisher on hand.