DOT HazMat Employee Training FAQ's

1. Where is the regulatory citation that requires this training?

2. What is the intent of the training requirement?

3. What is a HazMat Employee?

4. What is a HazMat Employer?

5. What is a hazardous material?

6. How often is training required?

7. What must the training include?

8. Who is responsible to ensure that all DOT HazMat Employees receive training?

9. Who can complete the training of DOT HazMat Employees?

10. What topics are covered in the HazMat Employee training provided by Daniels Training Services?

11. Does ICAO and IMDG training fulfill the DOT HazMat Employee training requirements?

12. Does training required by OSHA and/or EPA fulfill the DOT HazMat Employee training requirement?

13. What is the PHMSA?

14. What is a Large Bulk Quantity?

15. Who is a Carrier?

16. Who is a Shipper?

17. What is a Bulk Packaging?

     

1. Where is the regulatory citation that requires this training?: 49 CFR 172 Subpart H details the type and frequency of training required.  A description of the training requirements from the PHMSA website can be found here.
2. What is the intent of the training requirement?: The intent is to reduce the potential for hazardous material incidents in transportation which might threaten human health or the environment by ensuring that HazMat Employees are thoroughly familiar with their duties and responsibilities and emergency response procedures.
3. What is a HazMat Employee?:  A HazMat Employee is defined at 49 CFR 171.8 as someone employed by a HazMat Employer who in the course of employment directly affects hazardous material transportation safety.  This includes person who load or unload hazadous materials from vehicles, transport hazardous materials over public roadways, prepare or sign shipping papers, for hazardous material shipments, and those with direct management oversight of the above.
4. What is a HazMat Employer?: A HazMat Employer is defined at 49 CFR 171.8 as a person who is self-employed or who employs or uses at least one HazMat Employee on a full-time part time or temporarty basis and who transports or causes hazardous materials to be transported in commerce or is involved in the design, manufacture, or reconditioning of hazardous material packaging.  It includes all deparments, agencies and instrumentalities of Federal and State governments.
5. What is a hazardous material?: A hazardous material is defined at 49 CFR 171.8 as a substance or material capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property when transported in commerce.  The full lists of DOT's hazardous materials can be found at 49 CFR 172.101.  A DOT hazardous material includes hazardous waste as defined by EPA.
6. How often is training required?: Initial training of a HazMat Employee is required within 90 days of employment or change in job duties. Full recurrent training (not just a review of initial training) is required every three years. Re-training is also required if the regulations applicable to a HazMat Employee have changed. Annual training is a good way to stay informed of the constantly changing HazMat regulations. In-Depth Security Training must be provided every three years or within 90 days whenever the Security Plan is updated.
7. What must the training include?: HazMat Employee training must include the following:  (1) General awareness/familiarization training.  (2) Function-specific training.  (3) Safety training, including:  (i) Emergency response information required by subpart G of part 172; (ii) Measures to protect the employee from the hazards associated with hazardous materials to which they may be exposed in the work place, including specific measures the hazmat employer has implemented to protect employees from exposure; and (iii) Methods and procedures for avoiding accidents, such as the proper procedures for handling packages containing hazardous materials. (4) Security awareness training. And, (5) In-depth security training (if applicable).
8. Who is responsible to ensure that all HazMat Employees receive training?: Pursuant to 49 CFR 172.702, the HazMat Employer is responsible for ensuring that each of its HazMat Employees is trained and tested in accordance with the regulations. While final responsibility remains with the employer, Daniels Training Services provides you with all the necessary documentation to ensure compliance with this regulation.
9. Who can complete the training of HazMat Employees?: Training may be provided by the HazMat Employer or other public or private sources. It is not required to be completed by a ‘certified’ instructor. However, it is of great value to have an experienced instructor who can answer questions and provide guidance.
10. What topics are covered in the HazMat Employee training provided by Daniels Training Services?: Click here for an outline of the HazMat Employee training.
11. Does ICAO and IMDG training fulfill the DOT HazMat Employee training requirements?: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Instructions and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code training requirements may meet the DOT training requirements for function-specific training only. It does not meet the remaining DOT HazMat Employee training requirements.
12. Does training required by OSHA and/or EPA fulfill the DOT Hazmat Employee training requirements?: Training used to fulfill regulatory requirements of other agencies may be used to fulfill the DOT HazMat Employee training requirements as long as the training addresses the components specified in 49 CFR 172.704(a).
13. What is the PHMSA?: The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) is one of many administrations within the US Department of Transportation. PHMSA is responsible for ensuring the safe and secure movement of hazardous materials by allmodes of transportation; it therefore has overlapping authority with other adminstrations and bureaus within the US DOT such as:  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and others.  Its authority may also overlap with the US Coast Guard.
14. What is a Large Bulk Quantity?: As used in 49 CFR 172.800(b), “large bulk quantity” refers to a quantity greater than 3,000 kg (6,614 pounds) for solids or 3,000 liters (792 gallons) for liquids and gases in a single packaging such as a cargo tank motor vehicle, portable tank, tank car, or other bulk container.
15. Who is a Carrier?: As defined at 49 CFR 171.8, a Carrier means a person who transports passengers or property in commerce by rail car, aircraft, motor vehicle, or vessel.  Notice the definition is not limited to the transportation of hazardous materials.  A Carrier may transport either hazardous or non-hazardous materials or both.
16. Who is a Shipper?:  Interestingly, a Shipper is not defined at 49 CFR 171.8 despite the fact that it is used throughout the Hazardous Materials Regulations.  49 CFR 171.8 defines a Person who Offers or Offeror as: (1)  Any person who does either or both of the following: (i)  Performs, or is responsible for performing, any pre-transportation function required under this subchapter for transportation of the hazardous material in commerce.  (ii)  Tenders or makes the hazardous material available to a carrier for transportation in commerce.  (2)  A carrier is not an offeror when it performs a function required by this subchapter as a condition of acceptance of a hazardous material for transportation in commerce (e.g. reviewing shipping papers, examining packages to ensure that they are in conformance with this subchapter, or preparing shipping documnetation for its own use) or when it transfers a hazardous material to another carrier for continued transportation in commerce without performing a pre-transportation function.  A PHMSA letter of interpretation (05-0188) clarifies the relationship between Offeror and Shipper as:  "When the word 'shipper' is used, such as in the title of Part 173 - 'Shippers-General Requirements for Shipments and Packagings' - that word refers to a person who prepares a shipment for transportation."  This interpretation directs us back to the definition of an Offeror found in 49 CFR 171.8.
17. What is a Bulk Packaging?: 49 CFR 171.8 defines a bulk packaging as a packaging, other than a vessel or a barge, including a transport vehicle or freight container, in which hazardous materials are loaded with no intermediate form of containment. A Large Packaging in which hazardous materials are loaded with an intermediate form of containment, such as one or more articles or inner packagings, is also a bulk packaging. Additionally, a bulk packaging has:  (1) A maximum capacity greater than 450 L (119 gallons) as a receptacle for a liquid; (2) A maximum net mass greater than 400 kg (882 pounds) and a maximum capacity greater than 450 L (119 gallons) as a receptacle for a solid; or (3) A water capacity greater than 454 kg (1000 pounds) as a receptacle for a gas as defined in §173.115 of this subchapter.