COURSE OVERVIEW

Evaluate risks from improvised and commercial explosives in clandestine labs. Students practice identification, isolation, and safe mitigation techniques, including blast risk assessment and reactive chemical handling. Scenario-based exercises emphasize meter interpretation, structural hazards, and coordinated team decision-making, ensuring safety while controlling the scene. The course focuses on rapid, informed decisions when explosive conditions evolve unexpectedly.

This course is built for hazardous materials technicians and Joint Hazard Assessment Team (JHAT) personnel operating in that gray space between hazmat and explosives. Using real-world case studies, hands-on recognition, and scenario-based decision-making, students learn how to identify clandestine bomb-making environments before they escalate. The focus isn’t just on what’s present—it’s on what it means. Students work through oxidizers, fuels, peroxides, and improvised lab setups, while navigating the operational tension between continuing recon and turning the scene over. The result is a clearer understanding of when to move, when to slow down, and when to stop altogether—without losing sight of immediate life safety.

This course satisfies the following requirements: OSHA 1910.120; NFPA 30, 45, 50A, 50B, 55, 400, 470, 484, 485, 495, 704, 1072, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994