# Hazardous Materials Removal Workers

> Identify, remove, pack, transport, or dispose of hazardous materials, including asbestos, lead-based paint, waste oil, fuel, transmission fluid, radioactive materials, or contaminated soil. Specialized training and certification in hazardous materials handling or a confined entry permit are generally required. May operate earth-moving equipment or trucks.

- **SOC code:** 47-4041.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-4041-00
- **Also known as:** Asbestos Abatement Worker, Asbestos Remover, Asbestos Worker, Waste Handling Technician, Abatement Worker, Asbestos Hazard Abatement Worker, Decontamination and Decommissioning Operator (D and D Operator), Hazmat Technician (Hazardous Materials Technician)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Build containment areas prior to beginning abatement or decontamination work.
- Remove asbestos or lead from surfaces, using hand or power tools such as scrapers, vacuums, or high-pressure sprayers.
- Identify asbestos, lead, or other hazardous materials to be removed, using monitoring devices.
- 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.
- Sort specialized hazardous waste at landfills or disposal centers, following proper disposal procedures.
- Operate cranes to move or load baskets, casks, or canisters.
- Drive trucks or other heavy equipment to convey contaminated waste to designated sea or ground locations.
- Load or unload materials into containers or onto trucks, using hoists or forklifts.
- Identify or separate waste products or materials for recycling or reuse.
- Clean contaminated equipment or areas for reuse, using detergents or solvents, sandblasters, filter pumps, or steam cleaners.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Control Precision _(ability)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Public Safety and Security _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Category Flexibility _(ability)_
- Arm-Hand Steadiness _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Jenkins CI _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- SAP software _(hot technology)_
- Computerized maintenance management system software CMMS
- Database software
- Inventory management systems
- Xactware Xactimate

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 13th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 29th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 17th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 3rd percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 48th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 1.0% growth (About average); 5k annual openings; 51.3k → 51.8k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $48,490; 50,570 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 43% automation, — augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** directive.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Identify or separate waste products or materials for recycling or reuse. _(0.4% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me identify or separate waste products or materials for recycling or reuse.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-4041-00_