HAZWOPER: Handling & Shipping Drums & Containers Online Training Course - English

Detonations, fires, explosions, vapor generation, and physical injury are all potential hazards workers face while handling drums and other containers of hazardous substances. Proper work practices can minimize the risks. If the potential for a major spill exists, the hazardous waste cleanup site must prepare and implement a written spill containment program to address how the spill will be isolated and contained.

This HAZWOPER training course is designed to focus on the precautions and procedures to use when handling, opening, staging, and shipping drums and other containers of hazardous substances. The course goes over the importance of inspection, planning, sampling, and characterizing drums and containers before movement. Special precautions and spill containment are also addressed.

• The eLearning course covers the following topics:
• Drums & Other Containers
• Container Types
• Drum handling
• Hazard Awareness
• Inspection & Planning
• Inspection
• Planning
• Handling & Opening Drums
• Purpose of Handling Drums
• Equipment for Handling Drums
• Safe Practices
• Environmental Practices
• Special Precautions with Certain Drums
• Opening Drums
• Drum Sampling & Characterization
• Drum Sampling
• Drum Characterization
• Drum Staging & Bulking
• Staging Drums
• Bulking
• Shipping Drums & Containers
• Shipment of Materials
• Regulations
• Special Precautions
• Precautions for Specific Containers  
• Ponds & Lagoons
• Spill Containment
• Spill Containment Program
• Spill Control Measures
• After completing this course, learners will be able to:
• Identify types of containers and the hazards associated with handling drums and containers
• Describe what to look for while inspecting drums and containers, and the importance of developing a plan prior to handling them
• Describe the purpose of handling drums, equipment used, safety procedures, and special precautions to use when opening them
• Discuss the importance of sampling and characterization
• Explain staging areas, what activities happen in specific staging areas, and how to perform bulking activities to prepare hazardous wastes for shipment
• Discuss the precautions that can be taken when loading vehicles for transport and regulations that pertain to the shipment of hazardous wastes
• Explain what a Spill Containment Program is and spill control measures
• Intended Audience: Any employees who may be involved or expected to engage in hazardous waste cleanup operations where the employee may be exposed to hazardous substances, health hazards or safety hazards. These cleanup workers include:
  • General site workers, such as equipment operators, general laborers and supervisory personnel
  • Workers on the site only occasionally for a specific limited task (ie: groundwater monitoring, land surveying or geo-physical surveying) and who are unlikely to be exposed over permissible exposure limits
  • Workers regularly on the site who work in areas which have been monitored and fully characterized indicating that exposures are under permissible exposure limits where respirators are not necessary, and the site characterization indicates that there are no health hazards or the possibility of an emergency developing
• Regs Covered: 29 CFR 1910.120, 29 CFR 1926.65, 40 CFR 261, 40 CFR 262, 49 CFR 171, 49 CFR 172, 49 CFR 177, 49 CFR 178, 40 CFR 260.10, 40 CFR 262, 40 CFR 263
• Length: 75 minutes
• Languages: Available in English or Spanish
• Copyright Date: 2018

This online course is part of the HAZWOPER: 24-Hour Initial Training: Routine or Non-Routine Waste Site Workers Curriculum. To view the other 11 courses included in this curriculum, as well as other levels of training, visit the HAZWOPER Training Page.