The transportation and shipping industry is vital to providing the United States with a variety of commodities. Electronics, for example, have the highest dollar amount, and bring in an annual revenue of $1,673 billion. When it comes to the commodities with the highest weight, however, these are asphalt, Coca Cola, and natural gas. Approximately 2,647 million tons of these commodities are shipped throughout the United States on an annual basis. Hazardous cargo is also transported throughout the country on a regular basis.
Transporting Hazardous Cargo
According to the Department of Transportation, there are nine classes of hazardous cargo. Flammable liquids are one of the most regularly transported hazardous materials. A significant percentage of flammable liquid cargo usually consists of gasoline, for example.
On a daily basis, approximately 94% of hazardous cargo is transported by trucks. When considering that about 11 billion tons of freight is transported via truck every year, more than three billion of these freight tons consist of some type of hazardous materials. This includes the shipment of hazardous waste as well.
Learn More About Required Training, Certifications, and Licenses
There are specific requirements for handling hazardous waste as well as required training for shipping hazmat materials. This is because working with hazardous wastes is a dangerous occupation and certain protocols need to be adhered to rigorously. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that most hazmat workers need to complete as much as 40 hours of training. Some workers that handle or transport these materials also need to have state-specific licenses.
OSHA hazmat training and certification is available online so that you can be prepared to work a variety of positions. With the proper training and certifications, for instance, hazardous material removal workers can expect to earn a decent salary. The median annual salary as of 2016 was $40,640.00.
If you have already received OSHA hazmat training in one area, you may want to consider becoming trained and certified for another type of position. It’s also an excellent practice to take refresher courses from time-to-time. In this way, you will have the most recently updated information available.