Hazardous materials and waste products are incredibly common here in the United States, to say the least. After all, many of them, such as flammable hazardous materials like gasoline, are hugely essential for the day to day lives of the vast majority of residents of this country. The state of Texas, for instance, producing more oil than any other state in the United States, more than 1,170 barrels of the stuff in the year of 2016 alone, let alone in recent years. Not only does this mean that oil is hugely important for many functions of life, but it also means that the creation and transport of hazardous materials like oil is essential for the economy of many states, Texas in particular, as well.
In general, however, hazardous wastes and other such hazardous materials actually extend far past oil and oil alone, though natural gases make up a huge chunk of the total hazardous materials that are shipped on a yearly basis. After all, there are nearly five billion tons of hazardous materials and waste products shipped each and every year, making up more than one fourth of the 11 billions tons of cargo shipped on a yearly basis all throughout the United States, let alone all throughout the world as a whole.
But the transport of hazardous cargo requires a certain level of training, specifically for the hazardous cargo, wastes and other materials alike, transported by truck (which makes up the vast majority of how hazardous shipments are moved from place to place, as much as 94% of it at the very least). In fact, the required training for shipping hazmat materials is quite extensive here in the United States and anyone who is looking to begin working with hazardous wastes must first complete this required training for shipping hazmat materials.
In many ways, the required training for shipping hazmat materials is standardized all throughout the United States. This is thanks to OSHA, which requires at least 40 hours of required training for shipping hazmat materials before something like a DOT hazmat certification can be awarded to any person looking to begin work with hazardous materials anywhere in this country. However, some places will have even higher standards for required training for shipping hazmat materials, as different states can have different requirements for certification with the work of hazardous waste products in addition to even the OSHA standards that are in place. And many people will even take a hazmat training course here and there over the course of their careers, just in order to stay up to date on the changing and improving standards that are seen over the course of time.
And getting the required training for shipping hazmat materials is really not as difficult as many people might think at first. In fact, many an online training program is offered, offering the option to become certified in handling hazardous waste from your very own computer. This is really quite ideal for many a person, especially those who are already involved the workforce and are looking to change their current career path. Of course, they will need to keep working while they’re in the process of doing so, and getting their required training for shipping hazmat materials through an online format allows them to do so, allowing them to complete their training materials on their own schedule instead of needing to find the time to attend a class in person, which is often less than ideal for the typical adult with work and family responsibilities already.
All in all, however, switching the profession of hazardous waste transport is something that is likely to be quite lucrative in the years that are to come – as well, of course, in our present year today. After all, the rise of cargo being transported across the country is a consistent one, meaning that more and more people are likely to be employed in its transport as it continues to rise in volume as well as in value. And, of course, the average hazmat professional will be paid a starting sum of more than $40,000, with nowhere to go but up.
