Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

47-4041 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, contaminated soil, etc. Specialized training and certification in hazardous materials handling or a confined entry permit are generally required. May operate earth-moving equipment or trucks.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3) 		Mean hourly
wage		 Mean annual
wage (2) 		Wage RSE (3)
37,350 4.1 % $17.12 $35,610 1.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.29 $12.37 $15.61 $22.18 $26.60
Annual Wage (2) $21,410 $25,740 $32,460 $46,130 $55,340

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Remediation and other waste services 20,840 $16.58 $34,480 1 16
Waste treatment and disposal 4,780 $19.70 $40,980 2 6
Local government (OES designation) 1,270 $16.18 $33,660 3 18
Building finishing contractors 1,020 $17.48 $36,370 4 13
Other specialty trade contractors 940 $15.97 $33,220 5 21

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Power generation and supply 450 $24.50 $50,950 9 1
State government (OES designation) 40 $24.28 $50,500 23 2
Utility system construction 170 $22.52 $46,830 15 3
Elementary and secondary schools 110 $21.41 $44,540 18 4
Architectural and engineering services 660 $20.80 $43,270 7 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 320 $23.37 $48,610 0.112% 155
Washington 1,720 $21.01 $43,710 0.067% 277
Maryland 1,380 $15.35 $31,920 0.057% 383
Connecticut 820 $14.60 $30,360 0.050% 418
New York 3,690 $22.26 $46,290 0.045% 255

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 320 $23.37 $48,610 0.112% 155
New York 3,690 $22.26 $46,290 0.045% 255
Washington 1,720 $21.01 $43,710 0.067% 277
New Jersey 1,250 $20.92 $43,520 0.032% 290
Nevada 410 $20.26 $42,140 0.039% 220

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA MSA 710 $24.32 $50,590 0.894%
Fayetteville, NC MSA 360 $12.31 $25,610 0.336%
New Haven-Meriden, CT PMSA 340 $14.32 $29,790 0.135%
Duluth-Superior, MN-WI MSA 150 $14.75 $30,680 0.134%
Odessa-Midland, TX MSA 110 $12.39 $25,770 0.108%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
New York, NY PMSA 2,210 $25.31 $52,640 0.055%
Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA MSA 710 $24.32 $50,590 0.894%
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, CA MSA (6) $23.39 $48,660 (6)
Newark, NJ PMSA 260 $22.60 $47,000 0.027%
Bergen-Passaic, NJ PMSA 450 $22.57 $46,940 0.071%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Construction and Extraction Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003