A Survey Study on Training Needs and Effectiveness for Responding Hazardous Material Incident in the Central Region of Taiwan

In responding to complex hazardous material (HAZMAT) incidents, the specialized training on HAZMAT response personnel is an essential part of prevention strategies. The successful training courses not only consider the needs and interests of trainees but also practical needs in order to achieve training goal. This study used questionnaire surveys to investigate five dimensions of system needs, training needs, objectives, course contents and effectiveness on the response employees of chemical operation industries in the central Taiwan. Among 340 surveys, the study yielded effective return rate of 64%. Analysis of the survey results indicated that the training needs were the highest for “technical” (95.%) and “operational” (92%) levels, followed by “commander” and “awareness” levels, and the least for “liaison officer” level. The dimensions on training needs, objectives, course contents and effectiveness were not differentiated by surveyors’ companies and personal background. However, those who had encountered HAZMAT incident showed strong agreements. However, the training objectives showed differences on genders, course contents on job types and previous training, and effectiveness on graduation levels.  Since our study was only for the region of central Taiwan, we thought the results should be able to apply to the planning for the needs of future training of HAZMAT. 

Key words: HAZMAT, response personnel, training course, questionnaire surveys.