ABSTRACT
This chapter devotes to safe work practices for the water, wastewater, and environmental industries. The following listing was developed for investigating on-the-job injuries that occurred in wastewater treatment and collection activities. Many of the following practices are the result of observing good worker actions; others resulted from not-sogood worker actions. Hazards that are common to water, wastewater, and environmental operations include exposure to infectious disease, physical injury, confined space entries, toxic chemical exposure, electrical shock, explosive gas mixtures, noise, thermal exposure, oxygen-deficient spaces, and various dust, fumes, and mists, to name only a few. The plant safety and health official can be literally overwhelmed when attempting to reduce the numerous hazards that are present in the environmental professions. A tool that safety and health officials can utilize when incorporating safe work practices into typical environmental work activities is a manual of safe work practices.
