Will AI replace Hazardous Materials Removal Workers?
Construction and Extraction · O*NET 47-4041.00
Task exposure index for this occupation
Averaged across the week, this work sits at the low end of the exposure scale — most of it is not the kind current systems do well. O*NET breaks Hazardous Materials Removal Workers into 11 distinct work activities. Weighted by how much of the week each one takes, 5% of the job sits at or above the threshold where current systems can do the task end to end. The single largest contributor is "Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal", which scores 10 and takes roughly 50% of the week. That is the average for the job title. It is not a measurement of any particular person’s week, and the difference between the two is usually larger than the difference between job titles.
Model v1.2 · activity indices last updated 18 August 2026
What this occupation does
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.
The most exposed parts of the job
Scored 0–100 on how completely a current system could perform the activity.
- Record operational or environmental data.95
About 5% of a typical week
- Apply new technologies to improve work processes.48
About 4% of a typical week
- Inspect work sites to identify potential environmental or safety hazards.28
About 6% of a typical week
- Mix substances or compounds needed for work activities.14
About 2% of a typical week
- Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.10
About 50% of a typical week
The least exposed parts
The same scale. These are the activities current systems handle worst.
- Assemble temporary equipment or structures.5
About 6% of a typical week
- Pour materials into or on designated areas.5
About 2% of a typical week
- Load or unload materials used in construction or extraction.5
About 3% of a typical week
- Drive trucks or truck-mounted equipment.6
About 5% of a typical week
- Decontaminate equipment or sites to remove hazardous or toxic substances.8
About 11% of a typical week
How far off the rest is
Of those 11 activities, 1 can be performed by systems available today and 9 are outside what current approaches do at all. The remaining 1 sit in between — demonstrated in research or in narrow products, but not something you can hand over whole. We do not put dates on that middle group, because nobody can.
Compared with similar occupations
The nearest scoring roles in Construction and Extraction.
- Hazardous Materials Removal Workers (this page)16
- Structural Iron and Steel Workers16
- Helpers--Electricians15
- Plasterers and Stucco Masons15
Why your own number is different
Two people with the title "Hazardous Materials Removal Workers" can spend their weeks on almost entirely different parts of this list, and the parts they choose move the number far more than the title does. Who signs off when the work is wrong, whether the job needs you physically present, and how fast you have picked up the tools all change it again — and none of that is in an occupation average.
The assessment asks you to divide your own week across these activities and answer fourteen questions about the parts of the job an occupation average cannot see. It takes six to nine minutes.
Score my own roleFree to take. The full report is a paid subscription — the price and its terms are on the pricing section, before you start.
Questions
Will AI replace Hazardous Materials Removal Workers?
We do not answer that, because nobody can. What is measurable is how much of the work is already doable by machine: for Hazardous Materials Removal Workers, about 5% of a typical week, across 11 activities. The other 95% is not, and what happens to the job depends on things this index does not contain — cost, regulation, who carries the liability, and what the people doing it decide to do next.
What part of this job is most exposed?
"Record operational or environmental data" — it scores 95 out of 100 on task automatability and takes roughly 5% of the week.
What part is least exposed?
"Assemble temporary equipment or structures", at 5 out of 100. Work like that is where the hours you protect tend to be worth the most.
Where do these numbers come from?
The activity list and the time weights come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupational database. The exposure score for each activity is ours, from a published model — the weights, the priors and the limitations are all on the methodology page. No language model is involved in the arithmetic.
Does this apply to my job?
Only roughly. This is the average for the title, and the number that matters is the one for the week you actually work. The assessment asks you to divide your own time across these activities and answer fourteen questions about accountability, the parts of the job that need you specifically, and how fast you have adapted. That produces a different number, and usually a more useful one.
The full model — the weights, the priors and what it cannot see — is on the methodology page.