OSHA TRAINING LEVELS ON HOW TO DEAL WIT HAZARDOUS MATERIAL SPILLS
It is important to note that the spill of hazardous materials and chemicals can just happen anywhere. Sometimes, the risk of material spilling may be very minimal in your company bit even then, it may be a good thing to train your staff on how to handle the situation. In case of an hazardous waste spill, there are five main people who are most likely to be affected and that is why OSHA offers five levels of training for these individuals.
First Responder Awareness
The first level of training mainly involves those people that come to the factory but do not handle the chemical components. The staff in this level only need four hours of training as they are taught the most basic issues regarding handling chemicals. They are also taught how to recognize a hazmat emergency and who to contact.
Training for those responders involved in operation.
This level is for workers who have the job of keeping spills from spreading and to keep unauthorized personnel away from the spills. The employees at this level are required to take 8 hours of training. They learn hazardous materials terms and risk assessment. Other skills taught include how to wear protective equipment and clothing as well as how to contain the spill.
Hazardous Materials Technician
At this level, the staff to be trained are those that actually get into the spill area and stop the spill from spreading. Hazardous materials technicians need 24 hours of training. In this level of training, the techniques for assessing risk are taught further deeper as well as chemical and toxicological hazards. The staff are also taught how to use various survey instruments in order to identify leaking containers, spill control techniques as well as decontamination procedures.
the fourth level of training specialist in hazardous
This level trains the experts on how to handle hazardous materials in the site and how to communicate it with the federal state or government. This training takes 24 hours just like that of the technicians but it is more indepth when it comes to discussing the various types of hazardous material. They learn PPE for unique situations, how to determine what type of decontamination procedure to use and how to perform specialized containment operations.
Incident Commander.
This individuals are in charge of all the cleanups that happen after a spill and as a result the receive the highest level of training. This commanders are entitled to receive 24 hours of class training even though the hours may vary from institution to institution. This is because they need to have this information at their finger tips as they are required to come up with emergency response plans. The commander is also an expert on decontamination and medical risks
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