HAZMAT Technician 29 CFR 1910.120 (q)

A minimum of 24 hours of study time is required to successfully complete the HAZMAT Technicians course. The training consists of a modular format in which employers may choose the topics that best fit the needs of their hazardous materials team. Topics include:

• Chemistry
• Advanced recognition and identification
• Pre-incident planning
• Incident management
• Scene evaluation and termination
• Toxicology
• Medical surveillance
• Emergency care
• Respiratory protection
• PPE usage and limitations
• Decontamination

Training is centered around the mitigation of leaks, spills, and exposures to hazardous materials. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have learned how to:

• Explain the federal regulations governing the use, storage, and transport of hazardous materials in the United States.
• Describe health and safety issues by classes of chemicals and toxic effects on specific body systems.
• Discuss the importance of medical surveillance and proactive health and safety planning.
• Identify the different types of containers used to transport/store hazardous materials.
• Describe the pre-incident planning process, including the performance of hazard analysis and risk assessment.
• Discuss the chemical principles and terms of practical application to firefighters responding to hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction incidents.
• Explain the factors related to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), including chemical compatibility, the physiological and psychological stresses of wearing encapsulated clothing, and maintenance.
• Explain the types, levels, and process of decontamination, including step-by-step procedures and set-up of the area.
• Describe special decontamination situations such as decon for radiation and etiologic agents.
• Describe the structure of a typical incident management system at a hazardous materials incident with a focus on the Hazardous Materials Sector/Group.
• Describe the technician level responder’s role at a hazardous materials incident resulting from terrorist activities.
• Describe how to assess, treat, and transport patients who have been exposed to hazardous materials or injured at such incidents.
• Describe the defensive and offensive control measures used by hazardous materials response team members in students’ jurisdiction including, but not limited to:
  1. Diking
  2. Damming
  3. Plugging
  4. Patching
  5. Overpacking
  6. Transfer operations