HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) training is required under OSHA’s 29 CFR 1910.120 standard for workers involved in hazardous waste operations, emergency response, and cleanup. Firefighters are the most common participants in most communities. But large industrial operations should train on-site workplace safety and on-the-floor workers, too.
There are three primary HAZWOPER training levels:
- 40-Hour HAZWOPER – Required for workers handling hazardous materials or cleanup operations.
- 24-Hour HAZWOPER – For occasional site workers with a lower risk of exposure.
- 8-Hour HAZWOPER Supervisor Training – Additional training for supervisors.
High-quality HAZWOPER training or refresher training includes these elements
Because the trainings are standardized by OSHA regulation, they generally include uniform attention to:
- Regulatory Overview – Understanding OSHA standards and EPA regulations related to hazardous materials.
- Hazard Recognition – Identifying hazardous substances, their risks, and proper handling procedures.
- Toxicology & Exposure Limits – Understanding the effects of chemical exposure, permissible exposure limits (PELs), and threshold limit values (TLVs).
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Selection, use, and limitations of PPE, including respirators.
- Site Characterization & Control – Conducting risk assessments, air monitoring, and setting up work zones (hot, warm, and cold zones).
- Decontamination Procedures – Methods for decontaminating personnel and equipment to prevent contamination spread.
- Medical Surveillance – Required health monitoring for workers handling hazardous materials.
- Emergency Response Procedures – Spill response, fire prevention, and evacuation protocols.
- Safe Work Practices – Handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.
- Hands-on Training & Drills – Practical exercises for donning PPE, spill containment, and emergency response.
What’s covered in the 8-hour HAZWOPER refresher training
An 8-hour HAZWOPER Refresher Training is required annually to ensure workers at any level maintain their existing 40-hour or 24-hour certification. Failure to complete the annual refresher training means you’ll have to complete the full 24 or 40-hour course again.
Supervisors must also take the refresher training annually since nearly all supervisors hold an additional 24- or 48-hour course completion certificate.
The eight hours devoted to the refresher training typically covers any regulatory updates from the past year, hazard recognition, PPE, proper decon procedures, and relevant case studies and first aid review.
Identifying high-quality HAZWOPER training providers
OSHA’s guidelines require trainers demonstrate competency for all HAZWOPER training, but like a lot of education and courses, some are higher quality than others.
- Avoid online-only courses for the refresher. Online classes are objectively “easier” since they require less attention or travel time. But that is their downfall. If you’re going to invest time and effort in doing a course, do it to the fullest ability. VPC could offer an online HAZWOPER refresher course, but we purposefully opt not to. It’s a disservice to workers and their communities. The 24- and 40-hour courses must be in person since they require hands on training with PPE, equipment, and materials.
- Hybrid classes exist, too, but since the exam require successful completion in-person, we find people are more successful when done entirely in-person, even for the refresher training.
- Look for trainers with significant experience and other certifications. VPC HAZWOPER trainers also hold multiple certifications in CISM, Incident Command, CHEP, and more.
- Trainers can adjust some of the material for the audience, but most do not because they’re delivering a one-size-fits-all curriculum. VPC trainers not only arrive at your location and can stay for the duration of the course, they also provide a substantial amount of in-person experience related to your community, workplace, or most common hazards.
- Ensure trainers have a background to deliver applicable case studies. Hazardous waste operations highly unlikely to be relevant to your workplace or industry are of no use to your employees. VPC trainers work in-the-field and have first-person accounts of real responses.
- Ask about student reviews. VPC can provide connections to prior course participants to back up the quality of our trainings.
Avoid these red flags with HAZWOPER trainings and trainers
🚩 Training that doesn’t mention OSHA compliance or 29 CFR 1910.120
🚩 Providers that only offer online 40-hour training (without hands-on exercises)
🚩 Courses that skip PPE demonstrations or spill response drills
🚩 No instructor credentials or industry experience listed
🚩 No official certificate issued upon completion