The wastewater treatment field isn’t well-known in the community. Very few people think about what happens in order to get clean water to flow through pipes or even to flush their toilets. There is a network of piping delivering water to houses, community locations and business. This network of pipes is usually underground. In these processes, there could be a wide range of hazards related to the process of treating water or wastewater. For the water treatment process, the source water is usually taken from wells, surface water locations and aquifers and piped to the treatment plant for further cleaning. The treatment process of drinking water includes disinfection, the addition of coagulant flocculants and a filtration system.
Once this process is complete, the water is then sent to the distribution system. In wastewater systems, once the waste has been poured down the drain, it moves through a series of pipes. The collection station lifts the water to a higher level where it can be fed down to the next location by gravity. The collection stations are called lift stations. Once the water has left the stations, it then flows into the treatment plant to get further treatment before it is discharged into receiving streams. Here are some of the main hazards that are directly related to the treatment of wastewater and water.
Permit required confined space
In the treatment plant process tanks, collection system and distribution system, there is a need to have someone enter for various purposes to ensure wastewater treatment systems are functioning optimally. These tanks can hold an employee and have a limited means of access and egress and weren’t meant for continuous occupancy. This means that it is a confined space to OSHA. If there is a hazard that is related to space then it becomes a permit-required confined space. There are also atmospheric hazards, exposure to methane gas, and engulfment hazards in the distribution and collection systems. There have been cases when fire professionals are required to save a worker or contractor from being overwhelmed by gases in these systems.
Exposure to hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a gas known to be heavier than hair and it is a byproduct of decaying organic matter. In the collection system, there are a lot of locations where these gases accumulate. In case of a permit-required confined space entry, a worker or the operator should check the atmosphere for any presence of gases including hydrogen sulphide. There are cases where either the county or city worker has needed to be rescued because of overexposure to these gases. In such cases, a specialist should provide help to the county or city in order to rescue the worker. Sadly, if the rescue is not done rapidly then the employee will die.
Exposure to methane gas
Wastewater treatment produces methane gas and the gas may accumulate in the collection system. This gas can be explosive. The gas develops naturally in the collection systems since that is the place with little movement of air.
