The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has warned that oil spill cleanup workers must receive extensive training before they are allowed to work on the cleanup efforts.

According to US Assistant Secretary of Labor for Operational Safety and Health, workers hired as supervisors in the onshore and marine cleanup efforts must have had an extensive training program of 40 hours. Workers must undergo screening as required under OSHA Hazardous-Waste Operation and Emergency Response Standard.

According to the Assistant Secretary, he has received information that companies are pushing oil spill workers out there for cleanup efforts, with very little training of considerably less than 40 hours. Many of these workers are being sent out after being shown a few safety videos and with very little actual training.

The Assistant Secretary stresses that the training should be of a minimum of 40 hours. Many workers are also turning up for work after being trained on an online course. There’s nothing wrong with going through an online training program, but this training cannot be expected to meet all program requirements. The online training must be combined with other training aspects, and must be part of a 40-hour training program. It’s also important that workers know that they need to be trained before they begin work.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.