Worker training: it's the law & it's good for business.

• Author: Gerhart, Clifford
• Position: Includes related article - Hazmat Guide: Part Two

Business is confused about hazardous materials training. Many managers don't know who needs to be trained or how much or where to go to get training. Instructors in hazardous materials find that in many firms, employers and employees alike don't know how to manage the potentially dangerous substances companies use.

Gerald Hooper, safety and training director for Hartec Management Consultants of Anchorage, says, "Consistently, employees don't know how to work smart with their materials. People don't read labels and don't realize the importance of reading labels. And let's face it, a lot of employers just aren't educators."

Lack of knowledge about hazardous materials, or hazmat, training can hurt companies in many ways. Businesses can be fined for failing to provide required training. Untrained workers may cause serious injury or death to themselves or others, damage or destroy equipment and buildings, and lose business for their employers. The threats of lawsuits and increased insurance premiums for lack of attention to employee safety also make worker hazmat training good business practice. Some businesses, though, may be paying for employee training they don't need.

Most employers know that workers need training for handling, shipping or disposing of dangerous chemicals, but many don't realize that almost all employees should receive training in hazardous materials recognition and handling through company hazard communication programs. Employees who use a hazardous substance on the job have a legal right to be trained in its correct use. Further, employees who respond to emergency spills and who work at hazardous waste sites need more specific and extensive training.

A hazard communication program -- the worker-right-to-know provision of state and federal law -- provides instruction and information so employees can recognize dangerous conditions arising from hazardous materials in the workplace. Employers also are required to inform contractors and subcontractors of any hazardous materials in their work areas. Standards are performance oriented; no specific number of hours of training is mandated.

"Many businesses, such as law offices, do not realize they need a hazard communication program," says Stan Godsoe, chief of consultation for the state Department of Labor's Division of Labor Standards and Safety. He points out that many common chemicals, such as cleansers and copy machine fluids, are classified as hazardous materials.

In Alaska, worker safety is administered primarily by the state Department of Labor, which has adopted U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules. The penalties for violation of the hazard communication law vary according to severity of violation; from fines of $200 or less for regulatory violations, such as failure to display posters, to $10,000 for willful criminal violations. The amount of a fine depends on the size of the company, previous history and evidence of good faith.

Although the state Division of Labor Standards and Safety usually must have a formal...