HAZMAT EMPLOYEE
(Who is a hazmat employee?)
49 CFR # 171.8 defines a "hazmat employee" as one who “prepares hazardous materials (dangerous goods) for transportation”.
This means a person who is employed by a hazmat employer and who in the course of employment directly affects hazardous materials transportation safety. This term includes an owner-operator of a motor vehicle which transport s hazardous materials in commerce. This term includes an individual, including a self-employed individual, employed by a hazmat employer who, during the course of employment:
- Loads, Unloads, or Handles hazardous materials (dangerous goods);
- Manufactures, Tests, Reconditions, Repairs, Modifies, and Marks or otherwise represents containers, drums or packagings as qualified for use in the transportation of hazardous materials (dangerous goods).
- Prepares hazardous materials (dangerous goods) for transportation.
- Is responsible for Safety of transporting hazardous goods (dangerous goods), or
- Operates a vehicle used to transport hazardous goods (dangerous materials).
This is an all-inclusive term. Some of the functions that are included in this term (and there are more) are:
- Designing, Specifying, Assembling, Filling and Closing of packages of hazardous goods (dangerous materials).
- Applying marks and labels required by regulation to those packages.
- Preparing hazardous goods (dangerous materials) shipping documents on which the hazardous goods are described according to regulatory requirements, and
- Offering hazardous goods (dangerous materials) shipments to transporters, or transporting them.
- Anyone whose function has a direct bearing upon preparing it for shipment is within the “Hazmat Employee” definition, and must be trained.
Having only one person trained does not necessarily fulfill all the regulatory requirements; who performs that person’s functions during absences for vacation, travel, or illness? The replacement in those circumstances becomes a hazmat employee, regardless of the duration of the replacement period. Also, if someone other than the preparer checks the shipping documents for accuracy and correctness, the individual that does the checking is as much as a hazmat employee as the preparer, and is equally subject to the training requirements of the regulations.
Recordkeeping is vital, if a Federal inspector visits the facility that prepares hazardous goods (dangerous materials) shipments, the first request is to see training records, which will be examined to see if they are accurate, complete and current for all hazmat employees.
A new employee handling dangerous goods needs to be trained within ninety days of their start date. Recertification is required a minimum of every three years (or as regulations change) for DOT and IMO, and every two years (or as regulations change) for IATA. The best and most efficient way to do this is through one of our two-day Multi Modal training seminars. For more information, check our website, download a .pdf brochure, or call 800-631-3098.
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