CDP readies responders for train derailments involving hazardous materials

Not every train derailment in the U.S. involves the release of hazardous materials. But, when they do, it’s reassuring to know there are a sizable number of firefighters and others trained to contain such spills, including many who’ve received that training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP).

According to news reports, at least 15 of the train derailments in the U.S. in the first five months of 2023 involved trains carrying hazardous materials; eight of which resulted in the release of those materials.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,700 responders from those states where the releases occurred – Alabama, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Washington, and West Virginia – have graduated from the CDP’s Hazardous Materials Operations (HMO) or Hazardous Materials Technician (HMT) courses in the last five years.

Graduates of these five-day courses possess the knowledge and skills to respond to hazardous materials incidents safely and effectively. Those who are graduates of the HMT course have the added knowledge and skills to respond at the hazardous materials technician level.

Participants in these courses also train at the CDP’s Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological (COBRA) Training Facility, the only place in the country where civilian responders train with hazardous biological materials and chemical agents.

To learn more about the CDP’s HMO Course, visit https://cdp.dhs.gov/training/course/PER-322. For additional information about the HMT course, visit https://cdp.dhs.gov/training/course/PER-272.