These 5 states account for 20% of all hazmat incidents in the US
Over 20% of all U.S. hazmat transportation incidents since 2013 have occurred in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. These five states — with their high concentrations of heavy industry, transportation hubs, industrial and commercial rail lines, and manufacturing — demand highly-trained and qualified hazmat technicians, even in mid-size municipalities like Anderson and Elkhart, Indiana, Murphysboro, Illinois, and Cadillac, Michigan.
Hazmat Technicians operate offensively, compared to the defensive HAZWOPER and FRO
Hazmat Technicians differ from OSHA’s standard and more common HAZWOPER requirements. Hazmat technicians are part of a job category for hazardous materials emergency response. Where HAZWOPER-trained staff in industry, logistics, or first responders are “defensive,” looking for issues, leaks, etc., Hazmat Techs are “offensive” and are trained responders ready to enter hazardous “hot zone” areas, perform the actual cleanup, and decontaminate themselves and their colleagues using Level A and Level B hazmat suits.
Hazmat technician funding faces struggles in tight municipal budgets
The lack of hazmat technicians can prove dangerous for Americans, particularly in the Midwest. The 2023 East Palestine, Ohio train derailment famously released toxic chemicals in the air for days. Over 50 departments responded to the crisis, many of them volunteers from small, rural departments. Local first responders did their best, but the chemical emergency’s scale and complexity far exceeded New Palestine’s resources. In testimony to the U.S. Senate, an Ohio fire chief noted that this derailment “emphasized the need to better train and equip firefighters” for hazmat incidents in rural areas, which are “mostly served by volunteer departments that often lack sufficient resources, tax base, and manpower” for large-scale hazmat emergencies.
In Muskegon County, Michigan, county commissioners gave up annual pay raises to close a modest $45,000 funding gap in 2016 to keep their local Hazmat unit in service until they could secure more sustainable funding.
The consequences of a lack of Hazmat Technician training are all too risky and real for many communities. The Muskegon Hazmat team is a regional asset serving West Michigan that other counties lean on. Disbanding or failure to train responders causes significant delays that can be deadly.
In April 2013, a fire at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas led to a massive ammonium nitrate explosion. The town’s volunteer fire department was the first and primary responder, but they had minimal hazmat training or awareness of the chemical hazard. An investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that the West VFD “did not have appropriate training in hazardous materials response” and was likely unaware of the risk of a fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate detonation.
Some states have sought to regionalize or formalize state-level training. Minnesota maintains a Materials Regional Response Team to support local responders. Summit County, Colorado cross-trains every firefighter in their departments to a baseline Hazmat Operations level, ensuring competency for each crew.
VPC has worked with several rural and mid-size departments on full-scale Hazmat Technician training courses, including the departments in Indianapolis, Hamilton County, Indiana, the City of Marion, Indiana, Delaware County, Indiana, and Richmond, Indiana. These smaller municipalities like Muncie and Marion would likely have to rely on Indianapolis-Carmel area departments for Hazmat response, which are over an hour away at best.
Grants are available for Hazmat Technician courses
There are grant programs specifically targeting hazmat readiness.
- FEMA, the US DOT, and ALERT grants are also available throughout most fiscal years. Many midwestern states, like Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, have funding options.
- Private sources, like TRANSCAER — an industry coalition of chemical and railroad companies — can help Hazmat teams. And Firehouse Subs (yes, the sandwich franchise) has a Public Safety Foundation Grant.
- The CHEMTREC Hazmat Emergencies Local Preparedness (HELP) awards provide small volunteer departments with funds up to as much as $10,000 for hazmat training and gear.
Sometimes, it’s up to local governments, like in Muskegon’s case where local officials creatively and selflessly redirected money to preserve their hazmat team for the region’s greater good. The Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) within each county or region often has funding that may be used for hazardous materials training.
Hazmat Technicians are “offensive,” unlike HAZWOPER and Operations-Level (FRO) hazmat training. As a result, the Hazmat Technicians’ training isn’t exorbitant in costs but is more expensive than most training programs because 24 hours of traditional classroom instruction covering material chemistry is paired with live exercises and drills, often using real or diluted chemicals, actors, and on-scene response in professional hazmat suits — all of which add to costs, plus staff time for training. Real-world incident command training may also be part of the training, depending on a department’s needs.
