Career
Hazardous materials removal workers
Remove asbestos, lead and other hazardous materials.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Remove asbestos or lead from surfaces, using hand or power tools such as scrapers, vacuums, or high-pressure sprayers.
- Build containment areas prior to beginning abatement or decontamination work.
- Prepare hazardous material for removal or storage.
- Comply with prescribed safety procedures or federal laws regulating waste disposal methods.
- Record numbers of containers stored at disposal sites, specifying amounts or types of equipment or waste disposed.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Remove asbestos or lead from surfaces, using hand or power tools such as scrapers, vacuums, or high-pressure sprayers.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $49,450 a year and 4,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/TechnicianCIP 15.0508
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Recycling and Reclamation Workers
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$60,020 · -5.7%
- Highway Maintenance Workers$50,260 · +3.4%
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$49,880 · +7.8%
- Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$49,690 · +2.1%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.