Hazwoper: should the Canadian chemical industry adopt an American model--for safety's sake?

Canada's chemical industry may find support coming from an unlikely quarter in its drive toward better safety for employees and better relations with the general public. Support comes in the form of the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) training program set up under the

Why is this U.S. standard seeing greater application in Canada, when U.S. law does not, at least in theory, see application outside the U.S.? To answer this question, it is important to understand how HAZWOPER developed, and how it relates to the chemical industry.

HAZWOPER was introduced in the early 1990s and specifies the training that employers need to provide to their employees regarding the handling of a wide range of hazardous materials. The training discusses the nature of various kinds of hazardous substances, safe handling techniques, dealing with emergencies such as spills, and remediation of areas contaminated by hazardous materials. The training generally involves about hall traditional classroom learning and about half hands-on experience both indoors and out. Training must be renewed on a regular basis through refresher courses. It is one of the main building blocks in the U.S. response to the need to protect both employees and the environment from hazardous materials.

One reason for HAZWOPER'S popularity in Canada involves Canadian entities sending employees south of the border to work--sometimes to install Canadian-made equipment in U.S. sites, or to carry out short-term secondments to U.S. locations. If these employees are involved in handling hazardous substances, they require current HAZWOPER certification. If they don't have the training, they may be denied access to a HAZWOPER-designated site in the U.S.

There are other reasons for Canadian employers to take interest in HAZWOPER. It is generally recognized as an excellent program that is meeting increasingly wide acceptance as a way to train employees in hazardous materials and hazardous waste handling. It is also seen as a good way to demonstrate due diligence in this matter. There is growing understanding of the dangers that hazardous materials pose to both employees and the workplace. Some of this understanding comes from non-governmental organizations that are focusing their attention on accidental releases of these substances. Aside from the damage these releases can cause, there is the potential for negative publicity, fines, and government pressure.

In Canada there is no direct federal or provincial counterpart to HAZWOPER, so the U.S. standard has taken root, by default.

Another reason for the standard's growing popularity is the wide availability of training materials and train-the-trainer resources that make providing the training relatively easy, low-cost, and straightforward.

Will HAZWOPER help bring down insurance rates? Not directly, but a well-trained workforce may mean fewer hazardous-material accidents and fewer injuries and illnesses during responses--resulting in a better experience rating with workers' compensation programs and lower premiums as a result. Fewer spills mean less production time lost and fewer employee sick days. It can also mean better relations with organized labour, as the training demonstrates management's willingness to provide the industry-accepted standard in safety training to union members.

HAZWOPER training helps meet other legislative requirements, such as the emergency response training component of the Canadian federal government's Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) legislation, particularly for Schedule 12 products, among the most problematic. It can also be useful for meeting other safety and environmental initiatives, such as the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association (CCPA) Responsible Care[R] ethic. HAZWOPER can serve as a central component to a chemical company's response to the Environmental Emergency Plan or "E2P" aspect of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which requires that facilities develop an emergency response plan if they have volumes over a specified threshold amount of specified chemical substances on site.

In initiatives such as the CCPA's Transportation Emergency Assistance Plan, which provides timely mutual aide response to spills of a member company's products when those products are too far from the manufacturer's site for direct response, HAZWOPER training is a good way of ensuring that the response will be made by qualified personnel. A chemical producer from Alberta, for example, is reassured that if there is an incident somewhere in Ontario regarding its products, that the personnel from other companies providing first response, if HAZWOPER-qualified, will perform to a high standard that is legally defensible. This crucial first response is vital in keeping the incident's impacts minimal until the Alberta company can get its own personnel to the scene.

How does a company provide this HAZWOPER training? Except in the largest companies, this subject may be too specialized to be offered in-house. While there is nothing in writing about who is certified to provide HAZWOPER training, there is the expectation that the training will be given by personnel who have demonstrated expertise. This can include being a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), but field experience is invaluable to supplement education such as the CIH designation.

While HAZWOPER training has demonstrable value, the time required for certification and maintaining that certification needs to be considered. The process starts with the 40 hours of the course itself, involving both classroom and hands-on education. While some skills are best taught in a classroom setting, there is no substitute for personal or hands-on experience in some areas. For example, learning about confined-space safety can best be done by strapping on a self-contained breathing apparatus and crawling into confined spaces. Traditionally, the course is taught over a five-day period of eight hours each day. The travel time and time away from the job need to be factored into production schedules. As well as the original course, there must be investment in regular refresher courses on a well-thought-out program that revisits all the course's skills over a three-year period.

For any entity involved in production, storage or use of hazardous materials, HAZWOPER can be a significant part of best practice and key to problem-free operations for the chemical industry.

Glenn Wood, MCIC, is an associate and head facilitator with Golder Associates Ltd., Mississauga Health and Safety Training Services Group, which conducts HAZWOPER training on a regular basis throughout Canada. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of New Brunswick, is a Registered Occupational Hygienist (Canada) and a Certified Industrial Hygienist (U.S.). Wood had a 22-year career in the Canadian chemical industry and held a variety of positions in industrial hygiene, health and safety, and emergency response management. He can be contacted at gwood@golder.com.