What is HAZWOPER training and do I need it?

HAZWOPER stands for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. There are a number of different courses under the HAZWOPER training catalog it can quickly become confusing when figuring out which training course you actually need. Workers who deal with or work near hazardous chemicals on a regular basis definitely need to be trained to handle such hazards and respond to them appropriately. These workers typically need awareness training and possibly more depending on how often they working near hazardous chemicals.

Workers whose job it is to respond to emergency situations involving hazardous waste need to be fully trained to handle emergency situations dealing with hazardous chemicals. These workers need to be trained to properly respond to such emergency situations in an appropriate manner, and direct others who may not have the same training as well.

Many firefighters go through the hazardous materials training courses to be able to better identify hazards when fighting fires or in emergency response scenarios. Many of the HAZWOPER instructors at NATEC International Inc. are former firefights in the Haz-Mat division with many years of experience in dealing with hazardous chemicals.