AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Hazardous Materials Removal Workers?

Task-level automation exposure for Hazardous Materials Removal Workers: 19 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

15% weighted task index

19 of 19 tasks scored

Median Salary

$49,450 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Medium

51,710 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+1.5% employment change

4,300 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$28,220 – $73,090

Highest medians

New York $73,090

Illinois $61,330

Alaska $60,320

District of Columbia $60,240

North Dakota $60,160

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $28,220

Arkansas $36,630

Louisiana $38,000

Alabama $38,610

Mississippi $39,440

State figures come from the 47-4041 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 15%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 86%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 3%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 7%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 23/100 Low

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

19 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 7%

1 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 3%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 90%

17 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#11591 · Core · 8% automatable

Remove asbestos or lead from surfaces, using hand or power tools such as scrapers, vacuums, or high-pressure sprayers.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#20796 · Core · 10% automatable

Build containment areas prior to beginning abatement or decontamination work.

physical manipulation — Erecting temporary structures requires physical assembly

Assemble temporary equipment or structures.

#20797 · Core · 8% automatable

Prepare hazardous material for removal or storage.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#11584 · Core · 8% automatable

Comply with prescribed safety procedures or federal laws regulating waste disposal methods.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#11585 · Core · 80% automatable

Record numbers of containers stored at disposal sites, specifying amounts or types of equipment or waste disposed.

data analysis — Record operational or environmental data into logs

Record operational or environmental data.

#11589 · Core · 8% automatable

Clean contaminated equipment or areas for reuse, using detergents or solvents, sandblasters, filter pumps, or steam cleaners.

physical manipulation — Decontamination requires physical handling of hazards

Decontaminate equipment or sites to remove hazardous or toxic substances.

#19869 · Core · 8% automatable

Clean mold-contaminated sites by removing damaged porous materials or thoroughly cleaning all contaminated nonporous materials.

physical manipulation — Decontamination requires physical handling of hazards

Decontaminate equipment or sites to remove hazardous or toxic substances.

#11587 · Core · 8% automatable

Operate machines or equipment to remove, package, store, or transport loads of waste materials.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#11588 · Core · 7% automatable

Load or unload materials into containers or onto trucks, using hoists or forklifts.

physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control

Load or unload materials used in construction or extraction. Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.

#19873 · Core · 8% automatable

Sort specialized hazardous waste at landfills or disposal centers, following proper disposal procedures.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#11594 · Supplemental · 22% automatable

Identify asbestos, lead, or other hazardous materials to be removed, using monitoring devices.

visual inspection — Hazard identification on site requires physical presence

Inspect work sites to identify potential environmental or safety hazards.

#19872 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Remove or limit contamination following emergencies involving hazardous substances.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#11597 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Organize or track the locations of hazardous items in landfills.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#11586 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Drive trucks or other heavy equipment to convey contaminated waste to designated sea or ground locations.

situated mobility — Truck driving needs real-world navigation and control

Drive trucks or truck-mounted equipment.

#19870 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Identify or separate waste products or materials for recycling or reuse.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#19871 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Process e-waste, such as computer components containing lead or mercury.

physical manipulation — Hazardous waste handling, hands-on

Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal.

#11598 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Operate cranes to move or load baskets, casks, or canisters.

physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control

Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.

#19868 · Supplemental · 40% automatable

Apply bioremediation techniques to hazardous wastes to allow naturally occurring bacteria to break down toxic substances.

decision support — AI advises adoption; humans deploy and integrate

Apply new technologies to improve work processes.

#11600 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Mix or pour concrete into forms to encase waste material for disposal.

physical manipulation — Physical handling of substances in workspace

Mix substances or compounds needed for work activities. Pour materials into or on designated areas.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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