Project Title: Hazardous Waste Training on the U.S.-Mexican Border

SCERP Project Number: HSW97-1

Principal Investigator: Harold Berkowitz

Task Manager's affiliation: Arizona State University

Goal: This project is designed to meet training requirements for personnel engaged with hazardous materials/wastes activities during both routine operations and emergency response situations. It is also designed to meet the requirements for the safe transportation of hazardous materials and includes training for personnel engaged in the transportation of hazardous materials/waste at U.S.-Mexican border crossings, and personnel engaged in the manufacture, remediation, or handling of hazardous materials/waste and emergency response activities.

This program included both a 40-hour (five-day) Hazardous Waste Worker Training for workers from various maquiladoras in the San Luis and Mexicali areas along with agency and emergency response personnel, and a two-day Hazardous Materials Transportation Training Course for workers involved with the transportation of hazardous materials/wastes. These programs related to the environmental priority areas of binational technology transfer and associated training, and management, transport, and disposal of hazardous materials, respectively. Both programs were conducted in Spanish. The programs provided the framework for future outreach to other industrial cities along the Arizona -Mexican border. The program is closely coordinated with EPA Region 9.

The two-day Hazardous Materials Transportation Course was conducted in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, with over 100 participants attending the course. The lead instructor for the course was Ing. Luis Felipe Fiancho Segui, Direcion General De Autotran Sporte Federal, Direccion De Transporte De Materiales y Residuos Peligrosos. The course included requirements for U.S. and Mexican regulations. The curriculum consisted of lectures covering all facets of transportation of hazardous materials including: marking, packaging, shipping papers, placarding, and driver training.

The 5-day Hazardous Waste Worker Training was conducted at the Maquiladora, Daewoo Electronics located in San Luis R.C. Both training sessions were successful as evidenced by the attendance and diversity of the participants, the interest expressed by participants, and the verbal and written evaluations conducted at the conclusion of the course. In addition, there was significant media coverage. Because of the great similarities between Mexican and U.S. transportation regulations, the curriculum utilized for both courses was very effective.

The FY96 SCERP-supported phase of this project: HW96-1

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Last updated 11/14/00