OSHA's HAZWOPER standard

The HAZWOPER applies to five separate groups of employers and their employees. This includes any employees who are exposed to hazardous substances and who are engaged in one of the following operations as specified by 1910.120(a)(1)(i-v) and 1926.65(a)(1)(i-v) and 40 Hazwoper training is required by these:
 clean-up operations -- necessary by a governmental body, whether federal, state, local, or other relating hazardous substances -- that are conducted at uninhibited hazardous waste sites;
 remedial actions involving clean-up operations at sites covered by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) as amended (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);
 intentional clean-up operations at sites documented by federal, state, local, or other governmental body as uncontrolled hazardous waste sites;
 operations concerning hazardous wastes that are conducted at treatment, storage, and removal facilities regulated by Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 264 and 265 pursuant to RCRA, or by agencies under accord with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement RCRA regulations; and
 emergency response operations for releases of, or considerable threats of releases of, hazardous substances in spite of of the location of the hazard.

Is computer-based training acceptable for Hazwoper and 40 Hazwoper training?
Computer-based training may meet Hazwoper and 4o Hazwoper training requirements, provided that it covers topics pertinent to workers' assigned duties. It must be supplemented by the chance to ask questions of a qualified trainer and by an assessment through tests and quizzes.
In OSHA's view, self-paced, interactive computer-based training can provide as a valuable OSHA training tool in the circumstance of an overall training program. However, use of computer-based training by itself would not be sufficient to meet the intent of most of OSHA training requirements, in particular those of HAZWOPER. OSHA urges employers to be cautious of relying solely on generic, "packaged" training programs in meeting their training requirements. For example, training under 40 HAZWOPER includes site-specific basics and should also, to some degree, be tailored to workers' assigned duties so hands on training is also required.