Final answer:
Hazardous waste generators are responsible for packaging, labeling, and preparing shipping papers for hazardous materials. Employers are also tasked with hazard communication and ensuring a safe workplace for handling hazardous materials.
Step-by-step explanation:
The United States Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulations, alongside the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) hazardous waste regulations, assert that hazardous waste generators are principally responsible for packaging, labeling, and preparing the hazardous material shipping papers for shipment.
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), generators must identify if their waste is hazardous, manage it accordingly, and ensure that it is appropriately documented. This includes the waste's proper identification, management, and treatment before recycling or disposal.
Hazardous waste transporters then may take over to move the waste to facilities capable of recycling, treating, storing, or disposing of it safely. Regulations also state that employers must inform workers about chemical hazards, which implies that within a workplace, the responsibility to handle hazardous materials safely, document them, and communicate this information to the workforce falls on the employer.
Employers are charged with providing a workplace free of identifiable hazards and are mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to prioritize hazard reduction through feasible workplace adjustments over personal protective equipment, further emphasizing the responsibility they shoulder.