many people have never come across this definition, and those who did probably did not know its meaning. What does it mean, and to whom is it applicable? This is what we are going to investigate in this article.
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, abbreviated as HAZWOPER, is a set of rules introduced by OSHA, in order to guarantee the employees’ safety during handling, storing, transporting, and disposing of hazardous goods.
A couple of facts about HAZWOPER
Hazardous substances. Regardless of the form (gas, liquid, or solid material), certain products might be causing harm to both the human body and the environment. With the intention to reduce the risk of hazards, it is important to know which goods present at the mining sites, laboratories, mineral processing sites, and other facilities can lead to damaging consequences.
HAZWOPER training. In order to be able to identify such goods and handle them properly OSHA requires all workers to complete safety training. First of all, it has been designed for those who are exposed to hazardous substances directly during clean-up, treatment, preservation, and disposal of dangerous wastes. Besides that, those who have no direct contact but are potentially exposed to the dangerous materials also need to complete the course.
What job roles require the osha hazwoper certificate. Operators of the machinery, general workers, hazardous materials technicians and specialists, geophysical analysts, on-site supervisors, and managers.
Two types of HAZWOPER courses. Not all training is the same. Considering the employee’s role, tasks, and expertise, one will need to finish either a long or short osha courses. The long one, which takes 40 hours, is intended for the new joiners, who have no previous experience in dealing with dangerous materials. For those who have already completed such training in the past, a short 8-hour refresher has been created. In both cases, after the successful completion of the course, the attendants receive a certificate that allows them to work on dangerous sites.
7 elements of HAZWOPER regulations. All programs cover a list of subjects, which are:
- Organizational structure
- Clear work plan
- Site-Specific Safety and Health Plan
- Safety and health training
- Medical monitoring
- Standard operating procedures for safety and health
- General site conditions linking to site-specific activities
