Electrical Safety in HAZMAT Environments

Hazardous materials and waste are part of many work situations, and can be found on many types of job sites. OSHA feels that it is so important for employees to know how to recognize these potentially dangerous substances (as well as how to handle and dispose of them properly) they have mandated that anyone working with these materials receive comprehensive training in this area.

In 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to regulate the handling of hazardous waste "from cradle to grave". Since then other regulations have followed, including OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.120, also known as HAZWOPER. As part of these regulations, there are varying requirements for employee training, depending on an employee's specific level of involvement with hazardous materials.

MARCOM's training products on "HAZWOPER: Electrical Safety in HAZMAT Environments" help employees to understand the hazards associated with the presence of uncontrolled energy in hazardous materials environments, and how to reduce or eliminate these potential hazards. Topics covered in these products include:

• Arcs, sparks and high temperatures. The National Electrical Code's three HAZMAT classes. Engineering controls. Safe work practices. Intrinsically safe electrical systems. Isolating machinery. Purging, inerting and pressurization. Confined spaces. Uncontrolled electrical sources. and more.

Each interactive course is about 30-45 minutes long depending on the topic. Courses are divided into a number of logical sections, each with its own quiz, so information is easily understood... and retained.

Also designed with training managers in mind, courses in the Interactive CD-ROM Training Library include a learning management system (LMS) at no additional cost. Using this system, trainers can define curricula... establish log-in procedures... even set up "pre" and "post" tests. The system also tracks employee activity through a powerful relational database, which can generate a number of informative reports. A database import/export feature also allows information to be transferred to and from databases in other software packages, such as a company's human resource system.

MARCOM's interactive CD-ROM courses and learning management system can be run on standalone computers as well as "hard-wired" local and wide area networks (LANs and WANs).