HAZWOPER stands for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. It’s a set of standards developed by OSHA that provides guidelines to protect workers who deal with hazardous materials, and to help them handle hazardous substances effectively. HAZWOPER as we know it today was codified in 1990, but there were several important events in the US in decades prior that led to its creation.

Starting in the 1940s, the development of the atomic bomb at the Hanford site in Washington State – and the leftover waste it created – necessitated a set of guidelines for dealing with hazardous by-products of nuclear development. In 1976, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was passed to regulate the creation, transport, and disposal of hazardous material.

Events like the Love Canal and the Valley of the Drums disasters of the late 1970s – in which hazardous wastes were carelessly disposed of, finding their way into water supplies and harming nearby residents – spurred the government to action. In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) – also known as Superfund – to deal with sites where the polluter could not or would not clean up their hazardous waste.

In 1986, Congress passed SARA, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, to strengthen the government’s ability to enforce cleanup of hazardous sites, since many of the perpetrators of hazardous waste dumping were going unpunished.

In 1990, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) consulted with the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to create the HAZWOPER guidelines as a way to standardize the requirements for dealing with hazardous waste cleanup or emergency situations.

HAZWOPER is designed to protect against the dangers that hazardous waste poses. Hazardous substances that are not disposed of properly can cause pollution of air, water or land, or even cause fires or explosions. Hazardous waste often contains carcinogens and has been linked to cancers, in addition to causing birth defects and other adverse health effects. It can also harm plants and animals, and have wide-reaching environmental effects. Thus, it’s imperative that trained professionals are kept up to speed on how to deal with hazardous wastes.

There are three types of situations where workers would need to be HAZWOPER certified. They include: Employees working at sites where the government has deemed that hazardous waste or pollutants may have accidentally been spilled or otherwise released into the environment. The work performed here could include drum removal or contaminated soil removal, for example. Employees at treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facilities dealing with hazardous waste. This type of work might include preparing waste for disposal, or handling hazardous waste at a landfill. Workers performing emergency response cleanup where hazardous substances have been released, or have an imminent threat of being released, regardless of the location. This could include trucks or drums carrying hazardous substances that may have overturned, or leaking storage tanks.

Depending on your role in the cleanup process, you might need a 40-hour training or a 24-hour one. If you’re a manager or supervisor of workers who are engaged in hazardous waste operations, or if you are a general site worker dealing with hazardous waste or risking exposure to hazardous material, you’ll probably need the 40-hour training. If, on the other hand, you’re only on-site occasionally, are unlikely to be exposed to high levels of hazardous materials, or are unlikely to be involved in an emergency, then the 24-hour training might be sufficient. In both cases, you’ll also need an 8-hour refresher course every year.

In the training, you’ll learn how to recognize hazards, handle emergencies, and minimize exposure, as well as decontamination procedures and how to use protective equipment and clothing. National Environmental Trainers, Inc. offers the highest quality HAZWOPER training. Our 40-hour training and certification will ensure you have the tools to comply with OSHA guidelines. 40-hour training and certification We offer online training with the only online hands-on simulator accepted by OSHA. Visit