Working with hazardous materials requires extensive training. If you plan on handling hazmat materials, your employer will be required to provide certain types of training before allowing you to perform any duties. This is to ensure your safety and the safety of others and to make sure you’re in compliance with the United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations.
If you plan on handling hazardous materials, here are a few key reasons why you need DOT hazmat training.
1. Ensuring your safety and others
It’s no secret that working with hazardous materials can be risky. If you do not have the proper training, you’re more likely to expose yourself and others to potentially hazardous articles and substances. Non-compliance could also lead to possible hefty fines. Completing a training program can show you how to avoid exposure before, during, and after transport. DOT hazmat training also teaches you how to respond to emergency procedures if you’re exposed to the material you are working with.
2. Reduce the risk of accidents
Employers who invest in DOT hazmat training for their employees drastically reduce the risk of accidents that happen in the workplace. When you purchase onsite or online training with a company like CARGOpak Corp, you and your workers will learn how to identify hazardous materials and deal with them safely. This will help reduce the number of accidents involving hazardous materials, equating to fewer workers’ compensation claims and decreased insurance rates.
3. Complying with the law and other requirements
If your company offfers hazardous materials for transport, the employer is required to provide DOT hazmat training. This training would include how you load, unload, handle or prepares hazmats for transportation. This also includes manufacturing or testing a hazmat package.
If you do not complete the required training and perform duties handling hazmat materials, you and your employer could face a penalty of $508 per day.
4. Helps keep transports safe and secure
Whether you’re loading, transporting, or unloading hazmat materials, you must have the proper training to recognize potential security threats. Some materials like explosives, toxic gases and high-hazard materials like some bulk chemicals are typical targets for terrorists.
Anyone who offers or transports high-risk materials must develop and adhere to a transportation security plan, according to 49 CFR 172.800(b). Undergoing extra training can help your workers know what to expect and help them formulate a plan of action in case their cargo or shipment is attacked.
5. Keep your knowledge up to date
If you think you’ll only need to undergo DOT hazmat training once, think again. The rules and regulations of hazmat shipping and transportation are constantly changing and evolving. Shipping hazardous materials internationally requires other regulatory compliance,such as the IMDG Code for vessel and the ICAO TI for air. The materials that you might ship and transport daily may also vary. Because of this, everyone who works in hazmat is required to retrain every three years.
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If you need hazmat training courses, CARGOpak Corp is the leading solution. We have over 30 years of industry experience and incomparable knowledge of shipping regulations for different products and modes of transportation.
We offer webinars, on-site training, and computer-based training for clients who offers, handles or recieves hazmat materials. You can also find an array of helpful resources related to US DOT compliance, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration compliance, and Lithium Battery Guidance for 2022.
Complete a needs assessment form now so we can personalize your hazmat training!
