Environmental Health, Construction & Our Community

The project team takes environmental health very seriously and has measures in place to try and minimize the impacts of a large construction project on a local community. The Project team has been working with Alameda County Department of Environmental Health and has a Remedial Action Plan (RAP), established a Soil and Ground Water Management Plan (SGMP) and has open lines of communication and outreach to the community to inform those interested about current construction work. The report established guidelines, processes and controls for the construction team to implement to make sure our community is respected while the construction takes place.

Dust Control

Dust control measures will be implemented during construction activities at the site to minimize the generation of dust. It is particularly important to minimize the exposure of on-site construction workers to dust and to prevent dust from migrating off site. Dust generation may be associated with concrete foundation slab and paving removal and processing (including potential concrete grinding for reuse at the Site), excavation and grading activities, truck traffic, ambient wind traversing soil stockpiles, loading of transportation vehicles, and other earthwork. Dust control will be implemented by the general Contractor for the project.

General Dust Control Measures

Potential sources of dust include demolition activities, mass excavation, construction traffic, site preparation and foundation work, trenching and utility construction activities, material stockpiling, and final site cleanup and grading activities.

Dust control measures will be developed and implemented by the Contractor, and may include the following or equivalent measures:

• Wetting down areas (two times per day and more as needed) around soil improvement operations, visibly dry disturbed soil surface areas, and visibly dry disturbed unpaved driveways, parking areas, and staging areas to prevent dust from becoming airborne. Watering may be increased during above average temperatures when activity intensifies or wind speeds increase.
• Ensuring appropriate wetting is applied during soil loading and import operations, and sing tarpaulins or other effective covers to cover all trucks transporting soil, sand, and other loose material.
• Covering stockpiles of excavated material, backfill material, import material, gravel, sand, road base, and other potentially dust-producing materials with polyethylene plastic sheeting, tarp, or other equivalent cover.
• Using dust enclosures, dust curtains, plastic tarps, windbreaks, and dust collectors as necessary to control dust.
• Utilizing alternate work methods.
• Minimizing drop heights while loading soil into transportation vehicles.
• Limiting the maximum on-site speed for vehicles to 15 miles per hour on unpaved roads.
• Loading trucks carrying excavated and other non-excavated material so that the material does not extend above the walls or back of the truck bed.
• Wet sweeping or vacuuming paved streets, sidewalks, paths, and intersections where work is in progress at least once per day and at the end of the workday during demolition, excavation, and dirt moving activities to reduce particulate emissions. The use of dry power sweeping is prohibited.
• Installing wheel washers to clean all trucks and equipment leaving the site. In the case where wheel washers cannot be installed, tires or tracks and spoil trucks will be brushed off before they re-enter City streets to minimize deposition of dust-causing materials.
• Applying non-toxic soil stabilizers or hydroseeding inactive construction areas, including previously graded areas and/or soil stockpiles that are inactive for at least 7 calendar days.

Worker Health and Safety Requirements

Suffolk Construction will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the appropriate health and safety procedures to minimize worker and public exposure to Site contaminants during construction. These procedures will be documented in a Site-specific Health and Safety Plan (HASP), which will be prepared prior to beginning intrusive Site redevelopment activities.

The components of the Contractor’s HASP shall be consistent with all applicable California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) standards and currently available toxicological information. The Contractor and its subcontractors will assure that

on-Site construction workers have the appropriate level of health and safety training and use the appropriate level of personal protective equipment, as determined in the HASP based upon the evaluated job hazards and relevant monitoring results. To the extent that any construction activities may constitute “clean-up operations” or “hazardous substance removal work” as defined in the Cal/OSHA standards for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER), 8 Cal. Code Reg. §5192, Contractor will assure that on-Site personnel conducting such activities, who may contact chemicals in soil have had training, and are subject to medical surveillance, in accordance with Cal/OSHA standards (“HAZWOPER-trained personnel”). Soil that is visibly stained, discolored, shiny, or oily, or has a noticeable odor, will be handled only by such HAZWOPER-trained personnel until the Environmental Professional(s)(personnel to be determined by the Developer and/or Contractor) evaluates the situation (see Section 3) to understand whether the soil contains unacceptable concentrations of contaminants.

Site Specific Health and Safe Plan Components

The required components of the HASP are outlined below. The HASP should be tailored to current Site conditions, current occupational safety and health standards, and task-specific activities then known to the preparer of the HASP.

Key Personnel/Health and Safety Responsibilities

This section of the HASP will identify the Contractor’s key personnel by name and will include identification of the Project Manager, the Site Supervisor, Site Safety Officer, and the subcontractors that will be working at the Site. The Contractor will provide its employees who will potentially contact soil or previously unidentified soil contamination a copy of the HASP and brief its employees as to its contents. The health and safety responsibilities of each individual worker will be described in this section of the HASP.

Job Hazard Analysis/Hazard Mitigation

A description of the hazards associated with the specific construction activities that give rise to contact or potential contact with soil or previously unidentified contamination will be presented in this section of the HASP. The hazards that will be discussed include, at a minimum, chemical, temperature, and explosion hazards, if applicable. As part of the job hazard analysis, the HASP will identify the chemicals likely to be encountered during the construction activities and will present a table indicating the symptoms of exposure and the relevant regulatory exposure limits for each compound (i.e., the Cal/OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit [PEL]). The procedures to mitigate the hazards identified in the job hazard symptoms of exposure and the relevant regulatory exposure limits for each compound (i.e., the Cal/OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit [PEL]). The procedures to mitigate the hazards identified in the job hazard analysis will also be presented in this section of the HASP. The use of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will likely be the principal mitigation procedure.

Personal Protective Equipment

This section of the HASP will identify the PPE that will be used to protect workers from the COPCs that may be present in soil. Personal Protective Equipment will be selected based on the COPCs identified at the work site, and the known route(s) of entry into the human body. The primary exposure routes include direct contact with soil and inhalation of dust. Although considered unlikely, certain construction activities, such as the installation of deep utility trenches or foundations, could result in workers coming into direct contact with groundwater. This contact is expected to be minimal, because Cal/OSHA regulations prohibit accumulation of water in open excavations. In the event that excavations are conducted in areas and groundwater is encountered, the HASP will identify any additional PPE required to minimize direct contact with COPCs in water, including water repellent gloves and boots. 

Work Zones and Site Security Measures

This section of the HASP will identify the specific work zones of the construction site and describe the site security measures, such as the placement of barricades, fencing, access control, and access logs. All workers within the work zone, who will have direct contact with soil, will perform the work in compliance with relevant aspects of the HASP. The support zone will be located outside of the work zone, but within the boundaries of the construction site. All end-of-the day cleanup operations, such as cleaning of truck wheels (for vehicles exiting the construction site that could be tracking contaminated soils off Site), and the removal of any PPE, will occur in the support zone. If possible, the support zone will be located in close proximity to the entry and exit point of the construction site. The entire construction site will be fenced to control pedestrian and vehicular entry, except at controlled (gated) points. The fences will remain locked during non-construction hours, and all visitors will be required to sign a visitor log.

 Decontamination Measures

This section of the HASP will describe the specific procedures that will be used to decontaminate both equipment and personnel that have been performing work in direct contact with soil. Decontamination measures will include cleaning the wheels of all vehicles that have been in contact with soil in the support zone prior to their exiting the Site. Additionally, workers will be required to remove any contaminated PPE and place it in a designated area in the support zone prior to leaving the Site. 

General Safe Work Practices

This section of the HASP will discuss the general safe work practices to be followed at the construction site, including entry restrictions, tailgate safety meetings, use of PPE, personal hygiene, hand washing facilities, eating and smoking restrictions, the use of warning signs and barricades, precautions near heavy equipment, confined space entry, and any special precautions that may be specific to the construction site and construction worker.

Contingency Plans/Emergency Information

This section of the HASP will provide information regarding the procedures to be followed in the event of an emergency. The location of specific emergency equipment, such as eyewash stations, first aid kits, and fire extinguishers will be presented, and emergency telephone numbers and contacts will be identified. A map indicating the route to the nearest hospital will also be provided in this section of the HASP.

Medical Surveillance

This section of the HASP will describe medical surveillance that would be required for certain workers. To the extent that any construction activities may constitute “clean-up operations” or “hazardous substance removal work” as defined in the Cal/OSHA standards for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, 8 Cal. Code Reg. §5192, each construction Contractor will assure that its on-site personnel conducting such activities have had training, and are subject to medical surveillance, in accordance with Cal/OSHA standards (“HAZWOPER-trained personnel”).

Construction Safety Measures

These procedures include construction safety measures for excavations and require preparation of activity hazard analyses.

Soil & Groundwater Management Plan (SGMP)

The purpose of the SGMP is to generally describe the procedures that will be employed when areas of known or potentially impacted soils are encountered during Site redevelopment activities. The SGMP has been developed to facilitate the redevelopment of the Site, by outlining procedures that will be used for identifying, testing, handling, and disposal of impacted soil that may be encountered during the redevelopment activities. Implementing the procedures in this SGMP will ensure that impacted soil (if encountered) is handled in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment, in accordance with State and local regulations.