Who Must Be Trained?

Anyone who prepares, transports, loads, unloads, handles, or directly affects the safety of hazardous materials incident to transportation is considered a HAZMAT EMPLOYEE (see section 171.8).

• This can include a wide variety of occupations such as dock workers, warehouse personnel, research scientists, service technicians, safety officers, managers, quality assurance personnel, waste handlers, shipping clerks, and many more.

Does the employee's duties affect transportation in any way?

If the answer is yes, the HAZMAT EMPLOYEE is required to receive training in the applicable portions of the Hazardous Materials Regulations.

Employees must be trained within 90 days of becoming a hazmat employee and every three years thereafter. Additionally, Hazmat Employees must be informed whenever regulatory changes affect the performance of their duties.

(see section 172.704)
	General Awareness/Familiarization training (overview of regulations and hazardous materials)
	Function-Specific training (how to ship your products safely and in compliance)
	Safety & Security training (general requirements and specific company procedures)
	Driver training (for carriers only)
DOT requires a test, employer certification and retention of records (see below).

DOT defines training as "a systematic program that ensures a hazmat employee has familiarity with the general provisions of this subchapter {the hazardous materials regulations}, is able to recognize and identify hazardous materials, has knowledge of specific requirements of this subchapter applicable to functions performed by the employee, and has knowledge of emergency response information, self-protection methods and procedures."(see section 172.700(b)) In other words, training can be accomplished any way you like but it must ensure hazmat employees understand what hazardous materials are, what regulations might apply to their transport, and how to avoid injury in the event of an accident.

HOW DO I DOCUMENT TRAINING?
Each training record must include:
1. Hazmat Employee's Name
2. Completion Date of most recent training
3. Training materials used (description, copy or location)
4. Name and address of hazmat trainer
5. Certification by the hazmat employer that training and testing has occurred.