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

• Author: Grenn, Ben

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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 the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA).

* Voluntary cleanup operations at sites recognized by federal, state, local or other governmental bodies as uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

* Operations involving hazardous wastes that are conducted at treatment, storage and disposal facilities regulated by Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations pursuant to RCRA, or by agencies under agreement with U.S. Environmental and Protection Agency to implement RCRA regulations.

* Emergency response operations for releases of, or substantial threats of releases of, hazardous substances regardless of the location of the hazard.

"Of the 50 states, California is ranked first and Alaska is second when it comes to how stringent states are as far as hazwoper compliance goes," said Ryan Sharratt, operations officer for TC Enterprises in Kodiak, who conducts hazwoper training in Alaska.

THE SHORT AND THE LONG

Basically, there are two types of training courses. A 24-hour training session and a 40-hour program. The longer program can be divided into five, 8-hour sessions or four 10-hour classes or conducted over a two-week period. Included in the training are courses covering HAZMAT, chemicals, radiation, toxicology, medical, spill response, air monitoring and site-safety plan. The longer program also includes an intense day of training out in the field.

"We limit our classes to 30 students,"...