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Site Health and Safety Plan 19133 East Liberty Road, Clements, California August 16, 2022 (Revised June 27, 2023) Page 19 Sharp Environmental Technologies, Inc. Water exposure to construction activities is a potential hazard. Heavy machinery, moving traffic and foot traffic need to be watched out for. Workers on-site need to wear hard hats and steel-toed boots. The construction will be surrounded by barricades and caution tape. Adequate areas will be marked for traffic. Excavation and trenches are commonly found on hazardous waste site investigations or cleanups. Trenches are narrow excavations made below the surface of ground, generally deeper than they are wide and less than 15 feet in width. They are used in the risk assessment/feasibility study phase of a project and in the construction or cleanup phase. Activities in the trenches may include sampling buried containers; sampling subsurface soil, sludges, and other materials; and establishing control areas around extremely hot areas to prevent further contamination. Employees working in trenches may be exposed to many hazards other than the chemicals that are to be removed in the cleanup operation. Workers may come in contact with underground utility lines or pipes, which can cause a potentially fatal electrical or fire hazard. Typical hazards include cave-in of trench walls, oxygen-deficient atmospheres, accumulations of heavier-than-air gases or vapors, and objects falling on workers from a higher elevation. Slips and falls are also prevalent inside the trench or from ground level into the trench. Heavy equipment in operation around the trench can cause serious accidents if all employees are not observant of heavy equipment safety rules. Injuries associated with trenching on hazardous waste sites can be minimized by following OSHA Construction Standards contained in Title 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P and Title 8 CCR, Sections 3203 and 1509 and Article 3, Sections 6507 and 6760. Prior to excavation, the following precautions will be observed: • Check the area to be excavated for any underground pipelines, transmission lines, etc. Consult with utility companies as needed. • Determine soil composition (e.g., through soil sampling, soil maps, etc.) and other relevant site conditions, with special emphasis on conditions conducive to cave-ins. During excavation and work in trenches, the following precautions will be observed: • Follow standard construction safety procedures: • Heavy equipment safety. • Good housekeeping (e.g., keep tools and equipment clear of tops of trench walls). • Wear hard hats and other required protective equipment. • Utilize ditches, dikes, pumps, or other means to keep surface water out of trenches. • Water should not be allowed to accumulate in any excavation. • Monitor the atmosphere in and around trenches on a regular basis to check for explosive, toxic, or otherwise dangerous gases and vapors: • Bear in mind that trenches represent a confined space hazard, as well as a low-lying area hazard. • Be especially cautious if heavier-than-air gases are encountered (i.e., gases having a vapor density in excess of one).