Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
Identify, remove, pack, transport, or dispose of hazardous materials, including asbestos, lead-based paint, waste oil, fuel, transmission fluid, radioactive materials, or contaminated soil. Specialized training and certification in hazardous materials handling or a confined entry permit are generally required. May operate earth-moving equipment or trucks.
- Median pay
- $49,450
- Doing it now
- 52,700
- By 2035
- Up 1.5%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
4,300 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Comply with prescribed safety procedures or federal laws regulating waste disposal methods.
- Operate machines or equipment to remove, package, store, or transport loads of waste materials.
- Load or unload materials into containers or onto trucks, using hoists or forklifts.
- Clean contaminated equipment or areas for reuse, using detergents or solvents, sandblasters, filter pumps, or steam cleaners.
- Remove asbestos or lead from surfaces, using hand or power tools such as scrapers, vacuums, or high-pressure sprayers.
- Identify asbestos, lead, or other hazardous materials to be removed, using monitoring devices.
- Clean mold-contaminated sites by removing damaged porous materials or thoroughly cleaning all contaminated nonporous materials.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Environmental Control Technologies/TechniciansSee 17 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $49,450 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.