CHMM (IHMM) study guide
CHMM · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM®) is a professional credential administered by the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1984. The CHMM was IHMM's first credential, with the first recipients receiving it on May 1, 1984. The CHMM study guide has 5 sections and about 1,961 words.
01Hazardous Materials Identification, Classification, and Risk Assessment
This domain tests whether you can take an unknown material - a process stream, a discarded solvent, a leaking drum - and assign the correct regulatory and physical hazard labels before anyone stores, ships, or disposes of it. Expect items that combine RCRA characteristic determinations with DOT classification and a basic risk-assessment step.
394 words, about 2 min02Hazardous Materials Storage, Handling, and Incompatibility Management
This domain covers what happens between receiving a hazardous material and shipping it out: segregation, containment, container condition, and the housekeeping regulators cite most often. Items usually describe a storage room or transfer operation and ask what is wrong.
398 words, about 2 min03Hazardous Waste Management and Regulatory Compliance
This domain tests the generator-side rules that decide how long waste may sit on site, how it is documented, and which reports are due, plus where RCRA stops and CERCLA and EPCRA begin. Large quantity generator: 1,000 kg/month or more.
401 words, about 2 min04Transportation of Hazardous Materials (DOT)
This domain covers 49 CFR 171–180: how a material is classified, packaged, marked, labeled, described on a shipping paper, and placarded. Most items are straightforward once you separate shipper duties from carrier duties.
406 words, about 2 min05Emergency Response, Spill Control, and Worker Protection
This domain tests the decisions made in the first minutes of a release and the protections that must already be in place: training, respiratory protection, PPE levels, and zone control. OSHA's HAZWOPER standard requires 40 hours of instruction plus three days of supervised field experience for general site workers, 24 hours for limited-task workers, and an 8-hour refresher every year.
362 words, about 2 min