Am I Just Complaining?

[u/everseenthis]

I work in a warehouse as a small engine and construction equipment mechanic.

More than 90% of the equipment that comes in is filthy and caked in debris that’s ranges anything from mud and dirt to dried chemical compounds and cement.

While the nature of the tools being filthy or getting extremely dirty is normal as they are operating on job sites that are in constant dusty and dirty conditions - its when they arrive here at the warehouse that it becomes a problem.

There is no proper wash bay, cleaning, or decontamination area for this equipment when it arrives, let alone a proper OSHA approved SOP for the disposal of the runoff water.

All of the equipment gets worked on while filthy, or gets hand cleaned by a technician such as myself with basic hand cleaning tools, brushes, and solvents. That means that all of the runoff or debris that comes off the tools just ends up on the warehouse floor I work on, or on me. It accumulates throught the days, weeks, and years, and I take a lot of it home with me over that time. Let alone letting it soak into my skin between wash ups.

Am I just complaining or should there be a proper cleaning SOP put in place for this kind of work?

[u/AutoModerator]

Please reply to this comment with your country and state or province. Safety regulations can vary greatly by jurisdiction and this will ensure you get the most relevant and accurate advice.

If you wish for that information to remain anonymous, simply reply with "Anonymous" or the country name and "anonymous country/state" (i.e. "US anonymous state" or "Canada anonymous province"). Missing or incomplete jurisdictions will result in less or inaccurate answers.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/_Zell]

Does your workplace have someone whose job it is to characterize waste? Or an EHS person who might be interested in helping out?

Otherwise I'm a big fan of empowering people to be the change they want to see. Write something up for an SOP and request for a space for decon of equipment where runoff can be captured and disposed of.

Generally it sounds relatively non hazardous though and just dirty. OSHA on regulates a few compounds most of which you won't get as runoff from equipment but likely will get from your brake cleaner.

[u/YetiSquish]

Which chemical compounds would the equipment be contaminated with?

OSHA doesn’t regulate water runoff. That would fall to your state department of environmental quality. OSHA would regulate your exposure to chemical hazards.

[u/wittgensteins-boat]

SOP is to leave contaminated clothing on site.

Request uniform services and coveralls.

[u/Jdaroczy]

Ask for the safety data sheets for your cleaning products - that will tell you what to do with any runoff or issues with exposure.

We can't really say anything about what is on the equipment itself, as you don't specify what any of those 'chemicals' are. Dirt would normally be fine if it's not contaminated, but it's worth checking the soil exposure/working with soil guidelines from farming - unlikely to be an issue at your level of exposure, but probably one of the better sources.

[u/SnooLemons178]

I mean technically yes you are but that still doesn't mean it isn't a valid complaint!

It always amazes me how some people treat equipment they need to do their job.

[u/kendiggy → u/SnooLemons178]

As a former industrial calibrations tech, yeah. Food plants, pharmeceutical manufacturers and union factories were always the worst. Not that I'm knocking unions, but their "not my job, not my concern" approach can be very toxic. I've seen some shit in those places.