Those involved in the waste management or gas, oil and mining industries may find themselves faced with potentially hazardous wastes — either on a daily basis or in special circumstances. Having the proper training to effectively address these situations is not only important, it’s essential for health and safety. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has well established standards relating to hazardous waste — otherwise known as the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standard (HAZWOPER). The standard applies to five distinct groups of employers and their employees, including those who are exposed or potentially exposed to hazardous substances, including hazardous waste, and who are engaged in cleanup operations, emergency response operations and several other incidents, as indicated by OSHA. 

To that end, having training readily available — both for employers and employees as well as for students or those planning to enter specific fields — is a must. A number of institutes (both online and in person) offer 40-hour (or shorter) OSHA-accepted training (or shorter refresher) courses. While computer-based training may meet some refresher requirements, according to OSHA, it must be supplemented by the opportunity to ask questions of a qualified trainer and by an assessment of hands-on performance of work tasks. 

One such trainer is Ted Beyer, based out of Hudson, Wis. The former high school science teacher took a Train the Trainer course about 15 years ago and has since been a consultant and trainer in compliance and rapid response. He has also worked as an emergency responder, for a private contracting firm, cleaning up hazardous materials, as well as having contacts with the Bakken oilfields and the North Dakota Safety Council. 

Companies and schools contract with Beyer to perform the HAZWOPER training, both in 24- and 40-hour levels. 

“It helps people get jobs,” Beyer notes. “Anybody who cleans up hazardous materials has to have HAZWOPER training. Once you take the class, you have to take an eight-hour refresher annually.” 

Formulate a plan 

Helping students prepare for the workforce is one of the reasons St. Cloud State University (SCSU) in Minnesota decided to offer a HAZWOPER course for the first time this spring. The goal was to offer students a leg up compared to other job seekers if they had the training. 

According to Welcome Center Director and Assistant Director of Training Tammy Anhalt-Warner, “Our intended audience is students seeking employment in the oilfields, engineering, construction, industrial and environmental areas graduating within the next year. Our faculty identified this training as an opportunity to give students some additional skills/credentials to help make them stronger candidates when they begin their job search. 

“Of course, the program would be richer if some folks from the community, representing area employers, also attended the training. This would create a natural networking opportunity for employers who may be recruiting and students seeking employment.” 

Unfortunately, this spring’s course did not attract a sufficient number of registrations, but Anhalt-Warner remains optimistic. 

“It’s not uncommon to offer a program once and get the juice flowing and then have the second program take off,” she says. “Given more time to promote the advantages of the training to upcoming graduates, we will have a successful course in the spring of 2014.” 

Warming up 

Anhalt-Warner believes students knew about the training, but may have been unsure how it might help them. Also, cost may have been a factor. The 40-hour course, which was not covered by financial aid, cost about $950. (Nationwide costs vary depending on venue, hours and instructor.) 

“The students are warming up to the idea. We’ll also be marketing it to the community at the same time,” Anhalt-Warner says. 

Beyer is the trainer contracted by SCSU to teach the class. “Most challenging about the course would be the actual hands-on training,” he says. 

And that’s exactly where the importance of training — knowing how to gear up, how to proceed, etc. — comes into play. 

But, he adds, “Hazardous materials sites are the safest places on the planet [because] you don’t go in if you don’t know what’s there.” 

For more information on OSHA’s HAZWOPER standards, visit www.osha.gov/html/faq-hazwoper.html.

What training do you offer to continually improve your safety program? Leave a comment below.