Hazmat Shipping: Must-Know Issues
You cannot be safe and over classify.
Because of heightened security concerns
and recent hazmat transportation
incidents, the shipping paper
has come under more scrutiny by the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT)
and state inspectors than ever before.
Shippers and carriers are being asked to
demonstrate their compliance with all
regulations for preparing their hazardous
materials for shipment. Moreover, of the
304 civil enforcement actions closed from
May 2005 to April 2006, 215 were shippers
in violation of one or more of the
hazmat regulations. The price they are
paying is going up. The Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation
Equity Act of 2005 raised maximum civil
penalty amounts to $50,000/day/incident
($100,000/day/incident for serious violations).
It’s not just the company logistics
manager who has to worry.
The hazmat regulations do not
restrict who can sign the shipping paper.
It is not uncommon for the EH&S professional
to have responsibilities for managing
hazmat transportation. Whether it
is a shipment of hazardous waste, the
movement of raw materials into the field
or another site, or the movement of
unwanted surplus chemicals to another
person, EH&S managers are signing
shipping papers. Even though hazmat
compliance may be an ancillary function,
the consequences are significant for both
the managers and their organizations.
DOT requires that each shipment
accompanied by a shipping paper must contain
a certification on behalf of the shipper.
The words are few (34 to 46, depending on
which one you choose), but significant:
I hereby declare that the contents of
this consignment are fully and accurately
described above by the proper shipping
name, and are classified, packaged,
marked and labeled/placarded and are in
all respects in proper condition for transport
according to applicable international
and national governmental regulations.
[49 CFR 172.204(a)(2), emphasis added]
With each shipping paper and each
signature, the EH&S manager asserts
that everything to do with that hazmat
shipment has been done 100 percent correctly,
according to DOT’s rules, period.
Even more disconcerting, it is unlikely
the manager has personally done all of
the functions himself, so he is relying on
others to do the job correctly. The need
to know that everything has been done
correctly is essential; in fact, DOT considers
the person affixing the certification
signature to be a “hazmat employee” and
therefore subject to the training requirements
in the hazmat rules (49 CFR 172,
Subpart H).
The level of function-specific training
a person signing the shipping paper must
complete is significant. He must know all
aspects of classifying, packaging, and
communicating hazardous materials.
After all, if you don’t know what is
required, how do you know someone else
has performed his functions correctly?
This article will provide an overview of
the hazmat shipping and classification
process. In next month’s issue, the second
part of the article will address packaging,
loading, and security. Along the way, we’ll
identify the common mistakes and oversights
made by shippers and also key management
strategies that may be easily
implemented to help you reduce risks
conserve resources and save time.
Overview of the Hazmat Rules
Perhaps the first question that must be
answered is, do the DOT hazmat rules
apply? DOT requires compliance when the
following four criteria are true:
¦ Transportation of
¦ Hazardous Materials
¦ In commerce
¦ By aircraft, rail car, vessel, or
motor vehicle along a public highway
DOT defines a hazardous material as “a
substance of material, which has been
determined by the Secretary of Transportation
to be capable of posing an unreasonable
risk to health, safety, and property
when transported in commerce, and which
has been so designated. . . .” [49 CFR
171.8, emphasis added]
DOT designates hazmats primarily by
defining hazardous properties. These
properties are categorized into hazard
classes and divisions (e.g., Class 3—flammable
liquids). However, also included in
the DOT definition are miscellaneous
materials that may or may not be considered
hazardous in the general sense. This
includes hazardous wastes and substances
defined by EPA, marine pollutants, and
certain materials simply named by DOT as
being hazardous.
In Commerce
DOT takes a fairly broad interpretation of
“in commerce” for purposes of the hazmat
rules. Essentially, DOT has indicated that
materials are transported in commerce if it
is being done to further a commercial
enterprise. This can include shipments of:
This article originally appeared in the December 2007 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.