How much do hazardous materials removal workers make in Alabama in 2026?

Hazardous materials removal workers in Alabama earn a median wage of $38,610 per year, which works out to roughly $18.56 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That number comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025, and covers workers who remove asbestos, lead, mold, radioactive waste, and other regulated materials from buildings and industrial sites.

The pay spread across the state is relatively tight. The 25th percentile sits at $37,040 per year ($17.81/hr), meaning one in four workers in this trade earns at or below that level. The 75th percentile is $44,520 per year ($21.40/hr). The gap between the bottom quarter and the top quarter is about $7,480 annually — a narrower range than you see in many skilled trades, which reflects the fact that licensing requirements and regulated work processes set a floor that keeps entry-level pay from dropping too far.

Getting into the top quarter of earners — above $44,520 — usually comes down to a combination of certifications, years of experience, and the type of materials you're licensed to handle. Workers certified for multiple hazmat categories (asbestos, lead, and radioactive materials, for example) are more valuable to contractors than someone holding only one credential. Employers handling Department of Defense remediation contracts or large industrial demolition projects in Alabama tend to pay at or above the 75th percentile because those jobs carry stricter regulatory and safety requirements.

Geography within Alabama also plays a role. Work is more concentrated around the Huntsville corridor — where defense and aerospace facilities require ongoing environmental remediation — and around the Birmingham metro, which has a heavier industrial and commercial construction base. Workers based in rural areas may travel to job sites and either receive per-diem pay or work longer rotations, which can push total annual earnings above what the hourly rate alone suggests.

Overtime is a real factor in this trade. Hazmat removal is often driven by project deadlines, inspection schedules, and regulatory compliance windows that don't flex easily. When a project is in a critical phase, 50-hour weeks are common. At the median wage of $18.56/hr, a consistent 10 hours of weekly overtime adds roughly $14,450 per year in gross pay (at 1.5x), pushing total compensation well above $53,000. Workers who position themselves on longer industrial projects rather than short residential abatement jobs are more likely to access those overtime hours regularly.

No union scale data is available for this trade in Alabama. The state does not have a strong union presence in hazmat removal compared to states with larger industrial or nuclear remediation sectors. Most workers are employed by environmental remediation contractors or specialty demolition firms operating on open-shop terms. That said, federal prevailing wage rules (Davis-Bacon) apply to any publicly funded project, and those rates can be meaningfully higher than the BLS median for the same work performed under a federal or state government contract.

On the licensing side, Alabama follows EPA and OSHA standards for worker certification. Asbestos abatement workers must complete an EPA-accredited training course and maintain state certification through the Alabama Department of Public Health. Lead abatement workers follow a parallel credentialing path. These credentials require renewal — typically every year — which means workers who stay current are automatically better positioned for the higher-paying regulated work than those who let certifications lapse.

The BLS wage data does not capture several forms of compensation that can add up: per-diem allowances, hazard pay premiums on certain radioactive or chemical remediation projects, or employer-paid PPE and decontamination gear. On some industrial contracts, these extras can add thousands of dollars per year to a worker's total package without appearing in the reported hourly wage. When comparing offers, always ask what the base rate is versus what the all-in package looks like.