DOT Packaging Hazardous Materials is part of our DOT Transportation library. It covers the steps for packaging a hazardous material, how to select appropriate hazardous materials packaging and how to determine and prepare required hazardous materials identifiers, including labels, markings, placards, and shipping papers.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludges. They can be discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of manufacturing processes.” There is a growing awareness of the dangerous side effects of hazardous waste contamination. Years ago, many industrial plants discharged heavy metals and unstable organic compounds directly into streams or injected them into the earth’s subsurface through wells, causing illness in populations with close proximity to these toxic sites. This lesson teaches the industrial sources of land, air, and water pollution, the health dangers that environmental pollutants present, and the types of actions that industrial facility workers must complete in order to control industrial pollutants and respond to environmental incidents.

Thousands of workers are harmed each year from chemical exposure. This course helps employees explain the purpose and of the Hazard Communication Standard, identify chemical hazards, and read and understand SDS’s, chemical labels and symbols.