Learning About Safety in Wastewater Treatment Plants March 21, 2025 By Laura Schultz Operator Safety, Wastewater occupational safety and health administration, operator safety, OSHA, safety, wastewater, wastewater operators, wastewater safety, wastewater treatment, WWTP 0 Establishing, following, and training for rigorous safety protocols is critical to the successful operation of a wastewater treatment plant. Not every safety incident is as severe as the 2006 Bethune Point Wastewater Plant Explosion that’s detailed in the video above, but that incident is an effective example of how horribly wrong things can go when safety protocols are lax and safety training for operators is minimal. If you are seeking to learn more about safety in the wastewater treatment industry, a good first stop would be the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (better known as OSHA), a division of the US Department of Labor. It was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which also laid out a set of federal standards for workplace safety. However, the act also allows individual states to submit and operate their own safety plans and requirements (which are generally fairly close to the federal plan anyway). State plans may cover all workers in a state, or may only cover state and local government workers only. Here’s the breakdown of each state’s OSHA classification: No state plan, follows federal OSHA plans: Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin OSHA state plans covering only state/local government workplaces: Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virgin Islands OSHA state plans covering private and state/local government workplaces: Alaska, Arizona, California*, Hawai’i, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan*, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon*, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming *California, Michigan, and Oregon are the three states in which the state OSHA plans contain substantial differences from the federal OSHA plan. Find more information about your state’s OSHA plan here >> Find your state OSHA office here >> If you are in need of assistance in identifying and/or fixing workplace safety issues, most states do have consultation services available for free as part of the On-Site Consultation Program. Other OSHA programs workplaces can participate in include the Alliance Program, the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program, the Voluntary Protection Programs, and the OSHA Challenge Program. Read more about the OSHA cooperative programs here >> A great introduction to OSHA and other safety regulations through the lens of wastewater treatment is this recorded webinar in the Environmental Finance Center Network’s wastewater operator certification series. The main topics covered in the webinar include common hazards in wastewater treatment plants, personal protective equipment (PPE), confined space entry, equipment lockout/tagout procedures, hazardous chemical communication and safety data, excavation safety, and blood-borne pathogen standards. Other common safety challenges to be cognizant of in wastewater treatment plants include slips and falls (due to the abundance of water in a facility), caught or crush hazards from moving machinery, and general good hygiene standards. Finally, below is a sample of resources from our WaterOperator.org Resource Library covering safety in wastewater treatment. Search for others using our category and keyword filters! Safety Manual: Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation and Sewage Collection Systems This 20-page manual from the Kentucky Public Service Commission covers safety practices for wastewater systems. Safety Issues in the Treatment Plant This presentation from the 2017 National Association of Wastewater Technicians Conference goes through safety threats in wastewater treatment plants like chemical, atmospheric, & biological hazards; confined space; flammability; machine guarding; fall hazards; vehicle dangers; and PPE. Wastewater Treatment Plant Safety & Health This presentation given to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Central States Water Environment Association relates OSHA rules and standards to treatment plant operation and maintenance, and provides additional resources. Wastewater Safety This presentation from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reviews general hazards, discusses safety practices, and focuses most tightly on confined spaces, trenches, and PPE. Personal Protective Equipment: Respiratory Protection This presentation from the Operator Training Committee of Ohio focuses on OSHA requirements for respiratory protection. Given in 2020, the presentation contains detailed guidance on types of masks and how to care for them. Electrical Safety & Arc Flash Awareness This presentation from the Wisconsin Wastewater Operators Association details in great depth the few simple guidelines that are essential to maintaining personal safety when working with electrical hazards. Different types of hazards such as arc flashes and arc blasts are explained. General Safety in Lagoon Environments This presentation given to the Michigan Water Environment Association explores the safety hazards of wastewater lagoons. These include confined spaces, oxygen deficiency/gases/vapors, pathogens, slips/falls/drowning, and even zika virus. Comments are closed.