Hazwoper: hazardous waste training puts Alaska near the top of the class.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Grenn, Ben
• Date: 01 February 2008

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No, Hazwoper is not the latest line of hamburgers dreamed up by Wendy's or McDonald's to combat Burger King's Whopper in the ongoing fast-food wars. Hazwoper is the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER).

The U.S. Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), has set requirements and standards for each state to meet. Hazwoper applies to five distinct groups of employers and their employees. This includes any employees who are exposed or potentially exposed to hazardous substances--including hazardous waste--and who are engaged in one of the following five operations:

* Cleanup operations--required by a governmental body, whether federal, state, local, or other involving hazardous substances--that are conducted at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

* Corrective actions involving cleanup operations at sites covered by...