Hazwoper training is required if you are involved with: - Hazardous waste cleanup activities
- Activities at Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDF)
- Emergency response
These courses are conducted by trainers Authorized by the Office of Emergency Services, Calfornia Specialized Training Institute. If you require a more formal explanation, see The HAZWOPER Standard
First Responder Awareness (FRA) – 8 hours
First responders at the awareness level are individuals who are likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release and who have been trained to initiate an emergency response sequence by notifying the proper authorities of the release. They would take no further action beyond notifying the authorities of the release.
First Responder Operations (FRO) – 8 hours
First responders at the operations level are individuals who respond to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances as part of the initial response to the site for the purpose of protecting nearby persons, property, or the environment from the effects of the release. They are trained to respond in a defensive fashion without actually trying to stop the release. Their function is to contain the release from a safe distance, keep it from spreading, and prevent exposures.
General Site Workers (GSW) – 40 hours
This is for equipment operators, general laborers and supervisory personnel engaged in hazardous substance removal or activities that will expose them to chemical levels above OSHA’s 8-hour permissible exposure levels (PEL).
Hazardous Materials Technician – 24 hours
Hazardous materials technicians are individuals who respond to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances for the purpose of stopping the release. They assume a more aggressive role than a first responder at the operations level in that they will approach the point of release in order to plug, patch, or otherwise stop the release of a hazardous substance.
Hazardous Materials Incident Commander (IC) – 24 hours
Incident commanders, who will assume control of the incident scene.
Refresher Training
8 hours required for all levels – training must be done before year certification expires.
Note on training: While computer-based training may meet some refresher training requirements (provided that it covers topics relevant to workers' assigned duties), it must be supplemented by the opportunity to ask questions of a qualified trainer and by an assessment of hands-on, work-task performance.
The following 2 links from OSHA state that OSHA does not consider online training sufficient to meet most training and refresher training requirements, especially HAZWOPER.
The
use of computer-based training to satisfy OSHA training requirements. [11/22/94]
The
acceptability of a computer based, self-paced training program for use in
meeting the refresher training requirements of the standard. [10/11/94]
M.R.S. OSHA Safety, Inc strongly urges the use of a professional safety training organization to deliver the training required by OSHA Standards.