HAZWOPER TRAINING

“HAZWOPER certification” isn’t an officially recognized term, but usually people use it to refer to finishing their required HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) training as required by OSHA.  

HAZWOPER training protects workers involved in hazardous waste cleanup, emergency response, and hazardous substance handling. It ensures that employees know how to safely manage hazardous materials and respond to potential dangers in the workplace.

First, you’ll need to take an initial HAZWOPER course with a qualified training provider like us. Depending on your level of exposure to hazardous waste, you’ll need either 24 or 40 hours of classroom time, which includes online coursework. 

Once you’ve completed your book learning with a passing grade, you need site-specific training, supervised practice donning and doffing personal protective equipment, and a certain number of days of supervised fieldwork (one for the 24-hour course, three for the 40-hour course).

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), five groups of employees and employers are covered by the HAZWOPER standard. This standard specifically includes any employees exposed to hazardous or potentially hazardous substances.

The HAZWOPER standard also covers those who engage in several operations, including cleanup, storage, treatment, and hazardous waste disposal.

The HAZWOPER standard also applies to those involved in emergency response operations that deal with hazardous waste. This includes workers who must perform duties at a waste site where hazardous contamination is possible.

There are actually two different levels of initial training – HAZWOPER 24 and HAZWOPER 40 – plus an 8-hour refresher (HAZWOPER 8) that everyone needs to take once a year after they complete their initial training.

Supervisors also need to take the same HAZWOPER training as their workers.

There is an 8-hour refresher (HAZWOPER 8) that everyone needs to take once a year after they complete their initial training.

With on-demand training courses designed by authoritative experts, OSHA.com delivers immediate and cost-effective educational solutions with 24 x 7 anytime, anywhere accessibility to your training.

With instant grading and online certificates, you will receive a printable certificate upon successful completion of the HAZWOPER course

There are three categories of jobs that are required to take initial HAZWOPER training followed by annual refreshers: 

• Cleanup and remediation technicians at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites 
• Personnel at Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) 
• Emergency responders to hazardous material emergencies, like local fire departments, railroad emergency crews, and facility response teams 

Other jobs that encounter hazardous waste may meet OSHA requirements through more targeted competency-based training instead.