Hazmat training, among other functions, serves to reinforce that any actions of noncompliance in this line of work may result in an incident. Despite this, hazmat employees may find themselves wondering if such concerns could be hyperbolic – and if regulations really need to be so stringent.
This kind of questioning is understandable. Having said that, we must affirm that hazmat compliance in every facet is not just required, but most importantly, can be potentially life-saving. Though it may seem hard to believe, a single error, especially early in the process, can cause a chain reaction with disastrous consequences. Here is some information on how that could be.
The Butterfly Effect
You may be familiar with the concept of the butterfly effect. For those who are not aware, it describes a phenomenon in which seemingly insignificant actions may have significant effects over time. The name comes from a metaphor, positing that the atmospheric conditions behind a tornado’s formation originated in the beating of a distant butterfly’s wings.
Admittedly, the butterfly effect does not always entirely apply to scenarios involving hazmat incidents. A major element of this chaos theory concept is that predicting the initial conditions for any incident may be hard to discern. They may even be impossible to observe. What resonates is the principle that minor actions and choices may have major consequences. You may not be able to foresee them in the moment but they may still happen.
An Example of Hazmat Compliance Failure
Try to picture, for a moment, a hazmat employee whose task is to package, mark, label and prepare shipping papers for dangerous goods and offer them for transportation. Different hazmat items may have different weight limitations and packaging requirements. These regulations can be quite complex and difficult to memorize or recall. However, they exist because testing and research consistently demonstrated what conditions present significant safety risks during transportation.
The employee neglects to properly package two packages, even though regulations decree that they should be package in a specific manner according to their closure instructions. Due to the nature of the dangerous goods within each package, a release could have serious consequences specially when transported by air. The release of the dangerous goods, which in turn creates conditions that may react with other packages and the aircraft itself. The crisis could be so terrible that it could potentially down the entire aircraft. As the plane plummets, the disaster spreads to the ground and anything else below it.
Whether the cause was ignorance, insufficient training, or even sheer malice, the result is the same. One small oversight creates a situation in which lives, property, and the environment are all at serious risk. This example is not purely hypothetical either: history is filled with examples of moments when things go wrong because of preventable errors.
The warnings may sound dramatic, but they are based in awful reality.
Undergo Hazmat Online Training Today
The primary task of anyone involved in hazmat transport is to take every necessary measure for lowering risks of hazmat incidents. This requires them to comply with regulations and understanding hazmat compliance requires hazmat training.
New and experienced hazmat employees can sharpen their skills and knowledge with the training programs available at Hazmat University. Our hazmat online training is comprehensive yet simple to understand, and our hazmat compliance guidance will prepare you for your job functions. Undergoing your training will create its own chain reaction, one that will prevent incidents. Start that chain reaction today by checking out our online course catalog, available only at hazmatuniversity.com.
