People find me in google searches – it happens! – and when they do they fire away with questions.  Like this one August 5, 2016:

I saw your web page and the invite to contact you with questions about the transportation of hazardous materials. My questions involve the shipping of used medical devices.

Example 1. A used biopsy sampling gun from a hospital being returned to the manufacturer for failure investigation.

Example 2. A used medical machine which collects urine which is being returned to the manufacturer for:

a) Reconditioning and return to same hospital or,

b) Disposal if broken.

Example 3. A used medical ultrasonic machine which comes in contact with various patients skin which is being returned to the manufacturer for reconditioning and return to same hospital.

Example 4. A used catheter being used for personal home healthcare being returned to the manufacturer for failure investigation.

It may be precautionary assumed that recondition / reusable devices being returned from a healthcare facility came in contact with bodily liquids from floors or sprays from patients.

It is also assumed that these liquids are Category B infectious substance.

What are the suggestions for each Example:

1. Shipping Name
2. Inner Packaging Material and Markings
3. Outer Packaging Material and Markings
4. Acceptable types of transportation (i.e. personal cars, company sales cars, licensed carriers, etc)

Also can any regulated hazardous material be shipped to any off-site storage facility while awaiting decision dispositions?

Thank you very much Daniel.

I was impressed – and a little intimidated – by the depth of his questioning:

Yow!  That’s a lot.  I’ll do my best to answer your questions in the next several days.

And several weeks later, I did (9.26.16):

I will do my best to answer your questions below.  I apologize for my delay.

Here is a question I received almost a year ago on December 17, 2015 from a person who found me while searching the internet for an answer to his questions:

Daniel, hope this finds you well.  Could you give me your opinion on waste disposal companies using ORM-D for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) shipping names (e.g. flammable paint, cleaners that may have low or high pH and others that may fit into DOT respective hazard classes).  I am concerned as the material is no longer packaged according to the original  ORM-D packaging.  Are you familiar with any US DOT interpretation that would allow that those shipping names continue to be used?  My concern comes from reviewing a waste disposal company that is still using ORM-D shipping names.  Thanks for input and thoughts.  Wish you a Merry Christmas, Thanks.

Well, it took me a few days.  But just before Christmas (12.22.15), I replied:

I apologize for my delay in replying to your question.  I’ll do my best to answer it below.

In the front office, break room, shop floor, and the back of the glove compartment in your car, you’re sure to find those neat individual packets of alcohol wipes. Small towelettes soaked in alcohol – usually isopropanol or ethanol – they’re handy to have around for small clean-ups. But how are they transported? The purpose of this article is to provide guidance in the classification of alcohol wipes for the purposes of transportation and to identify and explain an exception to the Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR) of the USDOT/PHMSA. (more…)

This conversation started with a phone call in late May 2016:

In sum, a business was trying to determine the information necessary in order to classify a substance as a Class 8 Corrosive for transportation in commerce.  He had been told that the classification is based on the pH of the substance.  I told him that I was almost certain that pH was not a factor in this classification but instead was based on the corrosion rate of the substance on human skin or on steel or aluminum.  Not having a copy of the Hazardous Material Regulations with me at the time I took the call I couldn’t cite the regulation my answer was based on so I told him I would follow-up with an email.

And so I did.  In an email of May 31, 2016:

My first answer was correct that the USDOT definition of a Class 8 Corrosive Material (liquid or solid) at 49 CFR 173.136 is not based on and does not refer to the pH.  Whether a material is a Class 8 is based on two criteria:

He was pleased and had a question I couldn’t answer:

A question from a regular inquisitor regarding the Hazardous Material Regulations (5.17.16):

Good morning.
Question- We generate our own manifest or shipping papers for both hazardous and non hazardous loads.
We produce our own chemicals and ship/carry them to job sites.
That being the case, is the driver/employee required to sign the manifest?

My reply that same day:

Thank you for contacting me.  I’ll try to answer your question below:

Here is a type of question I receive frequently (5.11.16):

Good Morning.
I’m pulling a gooseneck trailer which is carrying two one- way totes of 1760 (corrosive solution) and 1 tote of 1824 (50% caustic). Both totes have proper labels and Id’s on opposite ends. Can I placard the trailer using only (8) corrosive placards or do I need 2 sets of placards with proper id’s?

My reply that day:

That is a good question. I will try to answer it here, if you need more information I can provide that later.

You are required to display the identification number for each bulk packaging of a different HazMat that you have on your vehicle. In this case you have two different identification numbers. You must display both on all four sides of the vehicle.

However, if the identification numbers are visible on the totes while in transportation on all four sides of the vehicle, then it is not necessary to display the identification number with the placards on the vehicle.

I hope this helps. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any other questions.

He must have been waiting for an answer because within a few moments I received this reply with further questions:

Daniel,

My reply that same day:

This question came through my website May 2, 2016 from someone I’ve never done business with prior to – or since – this contact:

To Whom It May Concern,

I saw a recent post you made on your web site regarding elevated temperature materials, a requirements for labeling requirements.

Can you answer the following question for me?

Does the transportation of liquid asphalt, if shipped above 212 degrees F, as an elevated temperature material, require the use of 4-digit identification number on shipping documents, placards, or panels as named in part 11 Section 172.101, Publication BOE 6000?

Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

My reply on May 2nd, to buy myself some time:

I will research the information and get back to you with an answer this week.

And then, on May 7, 2016:

I will attempt to answer your question below.

• What is an Elevated Temperature Material?
• Additional Description Requirement on HazMat Shipping Paper.
• What is a Bulk Packaging?

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

I thought that might be it, but a few days later (5.09.16) he replied with more questions:

Thank you for taking a look at this issue.  I am very appreciative, and I hope you don’t find my follow up question unnecessarily argumentative.

However, I am just 100% not sure I agree with your conclusion.

I do agree that the product is an elevated temperature material.    However, I am not convinced the four digit identifier is required to be on the car or paperwork, as opposed to just using the word “HOT” on two placards placed on the rail car and on the  BOL.

Per CFR 172.325(a)  – “bulk packaging containing elevated temperature material must be marked on two opposing sides with the word ‘HOT’”.  There is no mention of the requirement to use the four digit Identifier, only the word “HOT”.  In fact, under  CFR 172.325(c) it states, “If identification number is displayed…” .  Hence the CFR’s use of the word “IF” certainly makes it sound like the four digit identifier is optional.

As you correctly point out in your email, “

• Placards will not be required if the HazMat is solely a Class 9 Miscellaneous.  Why not?  Class 9 Placards are not required within the U.S.
• Labels are not required on a bulk packaging.

According to 49 CFR 172.504(f)- (9), “For Class 9, a CLASS 9 placard is not required for domestic transportation, including that portion of international transportation, defined in § 171.8 of this subchapter, which occurs within the United States. However, a bulk packaging must be marked with the appropriate identification number on a CLASS 9 placard, an orange panel, or a white square-on-point display configuration as required by subpart D of this part.”

The language is pretty clear that while “a bulk packaging must be marked with the appropriate identification number on class 9 placard”  it continues on further to say “OR a white square-on-point display” indicating that either can be used, and if a white square-on-point display is used then there is no 4 digit identifier is required.

I would greatly appreciate your further thoughts based on these arguments.

Full text here and below…

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/172.325

§ 172.325 Elevated temperature materials.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, a bulk packaging containing an elevated temperature material must be marked on two opposing sides with the word “HOT” in black or white Gothic lettering on a contrasting background. The marking must be displayed on the packaging itself or in black lettering on a plain white square-on-point configuration having the same outside dimensions as a placard. (See § 172.302(b) for size of markings on bulk packagings.)

(b) Bulk packagings containing molten aluminum or molten sulfur must be marked “MOLTEN ALUMINUM” or “MOLTEN SULFUR”, respectively, in the same manner as prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) If the identification number is displayed on a white-square-on-point display configuration, as prescribed in § 172.336(b), the word “HOT” may be displayed in the upper corner of the same white-square-on-point display configuration. The word “HOT” must be in black letters having a height of at least 50 mm (2.0 inches). Except for size, these markings shall be as illustrated for an Elevated temperature material, liquid, n.o.s.:

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I didn’t mind his challenge.  It caused me to think deeper about the regulations before I replied that same day:

I agree with the regulatory citation you indicated but not the conclusion you draw.  In your previous email you state:

The language is pretty clear that while “a bulk packaging must be marked with the appropriate identification number on class 9 placard”  it continues on further to say “OR a white square-on-point display” indicating that either can be used, and if a white square-on-point display is used then there is no 4 digit identifier is required.

My interpretation of the Hazardous Material Regulations  you reference is this:

• The regulations require a bulk package of a HazMat to be marked with the identification number.  Indeed, all HazMat packages must be marked with the identification number unless an exception to the Hazardous Material Regulations applies.
• The identification number may be displayed on a placard, or an orange panel, or a white square-on-point.
• If the white square-on-point is used the word “HOT” may be included in the upper corner if the HazMat is also an Elevated Temperature Material.
• It does not say that the display of the identification number on the white square-on-point is a replacement for the “HOT” marking or vice versa.

The “HOT” marking is required on a cargo tank of an Elevated Temperature Material in addition to the identification number, not as a replacement for it.

I’m happy to continue this discussion with you.

Clearly this issue was important to him and he had given it a lot of thought (5.09.16):

Dan,

Hope you don’t mind the back and forth on this.

You state, “The regulations require a bulk packaging to be marked with the identification number.”  However, per CFR 172.504(f) -9 it states, “However, a bulk packaging must be marked with the appropriate identification number on a CLASS 9 placard, an orange panel, OR a white square-on-point display configuration as required by subpart D of this part.”

Does the “or” not mean or?

Our exchanges got shorter as we refined our arguments (5.10.16):

You are correct.  The “or”, however, pertains to the options for how to display the identification number not if you display the identification number.  Display of the ID # is not optional.

Please let me know your opinion on this.

May 10, 2016, Finally my answer satisfied him!

Thanks for clarifying!   That helps.

Contact me with any questions you may have about the transportation of hazardous materials by air, highway, vessel, or rail International and Domestic Daniels Training Services 815.821.1550 Info@DanielsTraining.com https://danielstraining.com/

I was glad to help and couldn’t resist a shameless plug:

No problem. Glad I could help. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions you may have.

Or if you require any training.

The requirements for use of a salvage drum are explained in the USDOT/PHMSA Hazardous Material Regulations at 49 CFR 173.3(c).  Those for the overpack are explained at §173.25(a).  Both salvage drum and overpack are defined at §171.8.  These are two distinct regulatory terms and yet there is a lot of confusion about which is which and when one is chosen and the other is required.  To answer these questions I refer you to an article I wrote for New Pig:

Salvage Packaging vs. Overpacks:  What’s the difference?

It has the advantage of containing links to more information about each of these packagings from New Pig’s catalog.

In an earlier article I identified and explained the requirements of 49 CFR 178.703(a) that mandate the manufacturer of an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) mark it with certain letters, numerals, and symbols to indicate that it is specification packaging designed, manufactured and tested to meet a UN standard.  But the markings required by paragraph (a) of §178.703 may not always be enough.  In paragraph (b) of §178.703 markings are identified that are to be displayed on an IBC, “in addition to markings required in paragraph (a) of this section”.

The purpose of this article is to identify and explain the requirements of 49 CFR 178.703(b) for additional specification packaging markings to be used on intermediate bulk containers.
(more…)

Like all packagings used for the transportation in commerce of a hazardous material an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) must be authorized for the HazMat it is intended to contain. It must also, unless an exception is used, be designed, manufactured, and tested to meet a specification in the form of the UN standards (UN for United Nations) and be marked to demonstrate this.

Note:  Specification packaging for an IBC – like all other non-bulk packagings but unlike most bulk packagings – means the UN standard and not the DOT specification.

In an earlier article I identified and explained the general requirements for all specification packaging markings at 49 CFR 178.3.  This article will expand on those general requirements and look just at those that apply to an Intermediate Bulk Container at §178.703. (more…)