Hazardous waste products and other such hazardous materials are a fact of life. After all, just because a material is hazardous does not mean that it’s bad in any way (if properly managed and handled by hazardous material professionals in the field). In fact, flammable liquids (including gasoline) are the top kind of transported hazardous material her and all throughout the United States, simply because so many people need them on a daily basis. When you look at the numbers and see just how many people are driving cars on a daily basis, the need for hazardous materials becomes a lot more clear.
But just as the need for hazardous materials is high all throughout the country, so too is then need for hazardous waste management professionals. DOT hazardous materials training is a hugely important thing for hazardous waste management professionals to go through before they actually get out and in the world of managing hazardous wastes. Fortunately, this DOT hazardous materials training and hazmat training courses are mandated by OSHA, typically requiring the average hazardous waste professional to undergo at least 40 hours of training.
However, a mere 40 hours of training might not be the only training that a hazardous waste management professional has to undergo before receiving their DOT hazmat certification after undergoing a set of DOT hazardous materials training classes. Typically, other requirements will be decided by the state that the worker is undergoing training in. Different states, as it makes sense, have different requirements for DOT hazardous materials training and eventual hazardous waste management certification training.
This DOT hazardous materials training is becoming particularly necessary in the industry of transpiration here in the United States. After all, the transportation industry itself is on the rise, transporting via truck more than 11 billion tons of freight over the course of just one year. Of that freight, up to one quarter of it (about three billion tons) is considered to be hazardous waste or other such hazardous materials. This means that nearly 95% of all hazardous wastes and other such hazardous materials are transported via truck – at least here in the United States.
Of course, it only makes sense for many truck drivers to then go through a course of DOT hazardous materials training in order to get their DOT hazardous materials certification. This DOT hazardous materials training is likely to be very intensive, as the transportation industry of the United States has created nine fully distinct categories of various types of hazardous cargo here in the United States. These different categories help to differentiate hazardous wastes and other such types of hazardous materials, allowing them to be handled as safely and as specifically as is possible.
But why go though DOT hazardous materials training in the first place? First of all, the demand is high, meaning that job opportunities for those who are interested in the field are vast, at least in many places here in the United States. And for such positions, the starting compensation is certainly livable, with an average starting wage of just over $40,000 a year. While this is certainly not a necessarily high amount, it’s an amount that’s a better starting place than in many industries throughout the country, as well as an amount that provides a considerable opportunity when it comes to growth. For someone who is looking to build a new and consistent job here in the United States, the world of transporting hazardous waste materials is likely to prove incredibly lucrative not just now but in the years that are to come as well.
Of course, DOT hazardous materials training is there for a reason, and without DOT hazardous materials training the world would be a much more dangerous thing. The proper handling of hazardous wastes involves a great deal of caution and care, as well as good deal of thorough training on a regular basis. Such training typically requires a number of course that certify the people who take them for working with hazardous wastes of various natures in the U.S.
