The Nation : OSHA Sets Cleanup Rules

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued interim regulations designed to protect about 200,000 people who work with hazardous wastes or respond to emergency spills. The OSHA rules, effective immediately, require workers to be trained in handling hazardous wastes, undergo medical examinations, have protective equipment and know decontamination procedures. The rules cover employees at licensed waste sites, as well as “uncontrolled” disposal sites listed in the federal Superfund cleanup law. Some of the rules also apply, indirectly, to emergency teams--firemen, policemen and ambulance personnel--who may have to respond to spills or leaks.