HAZWOPER response training for home heating oil distributors

October 11, 1991
Mr. Robert Brooks
Right to Know Management Systems, Inc.
[Recipient address omitted]

Dear Mr. Brooks,

This is in response to your inquiry of September 5, concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response final rule (29 CFR 1910.120).

Your specific question relates to training of oil distributor employees for emergency response. OSHA responded to your previous letter to OSHA, dated July 29, making it clear that oil distributors are covered by 1910.120 and referred you to paragraph (q)(6).

In your telephone conversation with Matthew Fitzgerald, you reviewed your client's "Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan" and instruction on oil spill prevention, containment and retrieval methods. Your client's employees may be sufficiently trained to the first responder operations level outlined in (q)(6)(ii), although OSHA cannot come to a conclusion based on your telephone conversation. If the employees will be trained to first responder operations level they may perform defensive action, without trying to stop the release of the oil, and will call emergency responders or post-emergency response cleanup workers to clean up spills.

Equivalent training is acceptable under 1910.120 which states that employees must "have sufficient training or have had sufficient experience to objectively demonstrate competency in the following areas..." However, the employer must ensure that the employee accomplishes all training objectives outlined in paragraph (q). Employees with an engineering degree, for example, may be familiar with engineering controls but may not be aware of safety and health issues.

OSHA does not certify individuals, it is the employer who must show by documentation or certification that an employee's work experience and/or training meets the requirements of 1910.120. There must be a written document which clearly identifies the employee, the person certifying, and the training and/or past experience which meets the requirements. One possibility would be to include this information in the employee's personnel file. The preferred method is to include this information on a separate certificate for each employee.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact [the Office of Health Enforcement at (202)693-2190].
Sincerely,
Patricia K. Clark, Director
[Directorate of Enforcement Programs]
[Correction 1/17/2003]

[The requester’s September 5 and July 29 letters reproduced on the OSHA page are omitted here.]