The proper use of HazMat labels on a package of a hazardous material offered for transportation will rely largely on compliance with two sections of the USDOT/PHMSA Hazardous Material Regulations in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

• §172.406 Placement of labels
• §172.407 Label specifications

It is the latter of these two sections – often overlooked by Shippers and Carriers of HazMat – that is the subject of this article. (more…)

On its website the US Government Printing Office makes a wealth of Federal publications available for review and download; one of these is the Federal Register.

Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

See below for a brief summary of announcements in the Federal Register by the US EPA on the subject of Hazardous Waste and the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US DOT on the subject of Transportation of Hazardous Materials.

The Federal Register is a great way to look down the road and see potential changes to the regulations long before they are put into effect (sometimes The Rulemaking Process takes years before a final rule is issued, if ever).  Knowledge of these potential changes provides you with several advantages:

• Additional time to modify your business operations to comply.
• Awareness of on what topics the regulatory agencies intend to focus their efforts.
• The ability to register your concerns, complaints, suggestions, etc. in order to modify the proposed rule before a final rule is issued.  It can be done, really!
• Make changes to your training program to account for changes that become effective before the next training cycle.
• Alert you to the need to re-train your employees prior to their next scheduled training cycle, if necessary.
• Keep you abreast of changes to the regulations that affect your business and/or your industry group.

Please note that this is my best effort to identify the relevant announcements in the Federal Register that may be of interest to generators of hazardous waste and shippers of hazardous materials.  I encourage you to review the list of Federal Register publications yourself to ensure regulatory compliance.

 August 1, 2015 through August 31, 2015

USEPA – US Environmental Protection Agency:

Publications not related to the management of hazardous waste, solid waste, universal waste, or used oil are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

Idaho: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program; Revision Pages 50794 – 50797 [FR DOC # 2015-20726]  PDF | Text | More

North Carolina: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program Revisions Pages 51141 – 51144 [FR DOC # 2015-20907] PDF | Text | More

Michigan: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program Revision Pages 52194 – 52198 [FR DOC # 2015-21385] PDF | Text | More

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting: Authorized Program Revision Approval, State of Washington Pages 48528 – 48529 [FR DOC # 2015-19917] PDF | Text | More

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting: Authorized Program Revision Approval, State of Alaska Pages 48531 – 48532 [FR DOC # 2015-19916] PDF | Text | More

Waste Management System; Testing and Monitoring Activities; Notice of Availability of Final Update V of SW-846 Pages 48522 – 48528 [FR DOC # 2015-20030] PDF | Text | More

Twenty-Eighth Update of the Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket Pages 49223 – 49235 [FR DOC # 2015-20248] PDF | Text | More

FAA – Federal Aviation Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

FMCSA – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

FRA – Federal Railroad Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

Rules and Regulations Securement of Unattended Equipment Pages 47349 – 47386 [FR DOC # 2015-19002] PDF | Text | More

Proposed Rules:

Hours of Service Recordkeeping; Automated Recordkeeping Pages 51180 – 51192 [FR DOC # 2015-20663] PDF | Text | More

Notices:

None

PHMSA – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

Hazardous Materials: Delayed Applications Pages 46097 – 46098 [FR DOC # 2015-18721] PDF | Text | More

Special Permit Applications; Office of Hazardous Materials Safety Pages 46099 – 46101 [FR DOC # 2015-18723] PDF | Text | More

Hazardous Materials: Notice of Application for Special Permits Pages 46101 – 46103 [FR DOC # 2015-18718] PDF | Text | More

Hazardous Materials: Notice of Application for Modification of Special Permit Pages 46098 – 46099 [FR DOC # 2015-18719] PDF | Text | More

Hazardous Materials: Notification of Anticipated Delay in Administrative Appeal Decisions Pages 47987 – 47987 [FR DOC # 2015-19507]        PDF | Text | More

Hazardous Materials: Information Collection Activities Pages 50070 – 50071 [FR DOC # 2015-20274] PDF | Text | More

Office of Hazardous Materials Safety; Hazardous Materials: Notice of Application for Special Permits Pages 51348 – 51349 [FR DOC # 2015-20482] PDF | Text | More

Office of Hazardous Materials Safety; Hazardous Materials: Delayed Applications Pages 51347 – 51348 [FR DOC # 2015-20480] PDF | Text | More

Office of Hazardous Materials Safety; Notice of Actions on Special Permit Applications Pages 51870 – 51871 [FR DOC # 2015-20481] PDF | Text | More

Office of Hazardous Materials Safety; Notice of Applications for Modification of Special Permit Pages 52363 – 52364 [FR DOC # 2015-20483] PDF | Text | More

Information can be helpful but it’s useless if you are not able to make sense of it.  You must be able to determine how any changes to the rules and regulations (final or proposed) will affect your operations, and communicate the necessary information to your personnel.  I can help you to do that.

Please contact me for a free training consultation to determine your regulatory requirements and how training can help you to attain and maintain compliance with the regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency (and your state) and the PHMSA, FAA, FRA, & FMCSA of the US Department of Transportation.

Here’s an email I received through the CONTACT ME page of my website on May 22nd (a Friday afternoon!):

How long must we retain shipping papers for non regulated material such as dry bulk cement?

A good question.  Requiring a simple answer; though it took me a few days to reply (4.26.15):

May 21, 2015.  From the CONTACT ME page of MY WEBSITE:

Would a 10 cc syringe filled with 65% Oxygen/35% Carbon Dioxide at Atmospheric pressure be categorized as a hazardous material from a DOT perspective?

I was out of the office conducting Onsite Training in Ohio on May 21st, so my Wife fielded the call:

Hi, Dan is conducting training then traveling back to the office. He will answer your question as soon as he can.

Next day – May 22, 2015 – there I was back in the office:

Based on the information provided, what you describe would not be a hazardous material subject to the regulations of the PHMSA/USDOT when in transportation or offered for transportation.  To be a hazardous material it would have to match the definition of one at 49 CFR 171.8:

Hazardous material means a substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has designated as hazardous under section 5103 of Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103). The term includes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials, materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see 49 CFR 172.101), and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of this subchapter.

So, does your syringe meet the definition of a hazardous material?

What you describe is not any of the following:

• Hazardous substance
• Hazardous waste
• Marine pollutant
• Elevated temperature material

While there is an entry for Oxygen, compressed in the Hazardous Materials Table at 49 CFR 172.101 (see below), what you describe does not meet the definition of a Division 2.2 Non-Flammable Gas at 49 CFR 173.115.

My satisfied customer (not really a customer, just someone with a question) wanted a little more that same day:

Whereas questions are always answered free of charge – just like this one – sometimes a more “definitive judgement” is require and that’s where I require payment.  So go ahead, ask me a question about the transportation of hazardous materials or the management of waste (hazardous, universal, used oil, non-hazardous, special, &etc.) for no charge.  If you require a researched and documented response, we can make arrangements for my consulting services.

More information:

• The Small Quantity Exception to the HMR

See below for a brief summary of announcements in the Federal Register by the US EPA on the subject of Hazardous Waste and the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US DOT on the subject of Transportation of Hazardous Materials.

Please note that this is my best effort to identify the relevant announcements in the Federal Register that may be of interest to generators of hazardous waste and shippers of hazardous materials.  I encourage you to review the list of Federal Register publications yourself to ensure regulatory compliance.

 July 1, 2015 through July 31, 2015

USEPA – US Environmental Protection Agency:

Publications not related to the management of hazardous waste, solid waste, universal waste, or used oil are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

Technical Amendments to the Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities-Correction of the Effective Date Pages 37988 – 37992 [FR DOC # 2015-15913] PDF | Text | More

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): Revisions to Manifesting Regulations; Item Number Pages 37994 – 37995 [FR DOC # 2015-16395] PDF | Text | More

Transboundary Shipments of Hazardous Wastes Between OECD Member Countries: Revisions to the List of OECD Member Countries Pages 37992 – 37994 [FR DOC # 2015-16400] PDF | Text | More

Hazardous Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste Amendment Pages 42735 – 42738 [FR DOC # 2015-17672] PDF | Text | More

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

FAA – Federal Aviation Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

FMCSA – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

FRA – Federal Railroad Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

PHMSA – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

Hazardous Materials: Delayed Applications Pages 37733 – 37734 [FR DOC # 2015-15845] PDF | Text | More

Hazardous Materials: Notice of Application for Modification of Special Permit Pages 38267 – 38268 [FR DOC # 2015-15847] PDF | Text | More

 Hazardous Materials: Actions on Special Permit Applications Pages 38268 – 38271 [FR DOC # 2015-15846] PDF | Text | More

 Hazardous Materials: Notice of Application for Special Permits Pages 38271 – 38272 [FR DOC # 2015-15848] PDF | Text | More

And that’s it!  Not too much for July.  Maybe August will be a busier month for new regulations related to the transportation of hazardous materials or the management of hazardous waste.  If there is, you’ll be sure to know about first here.

Information can be helpful but it’s useless if you are not able to make sense of it.  You must be able to determine how any changes to the rules and regulations (final or proposed) will affect your operations, and communicate the necessary information to your personnel.  I can help you to do that.

Please contact me for a free training consultation to determine your regulatory requirements and how training can help you to attain and maintain compliance with the regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency (and your state) and the PHMSA, FAA, FRA, & FMCSA of the US Department of Transportation.

One of the hardest challenges for an EHS Professional is staying aware of changes to the Federal Regulations that affect your compliance.  Luckily, these new rules and regulations don’t just appear overnight.  Often they are the result of years of Notices of Proposed Rulemakings by the respective regulatory agencies followed by requests for comment from the regulated industry (that’s you!)  These comments may cause the agency to change the proposed rule which results in further notices until – perhaps months or years later – a Final Rule is published.  Usually the Final Rule is published months before it becomes effective. The Rulemaking Process is designed to encourage participation of the regulated industry and to ensure no one is caught flat-footed by changes to the Code of Federal Regulations.  This entire process is published periodically in the Federal Register.

On its website the US Government Printing Office makes a wealth of Federal publications available for review and download; one of these is the Federal Register.

Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

What I have done for the month of June 2015 is reviewed the list of publications in the Federal Register from the agencies listed below.  I have only included published notices that affect the management of waste and the transportation of hazardous materials.

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publications related to the generation, management, and disposal of solid waste, hazardous waste, universal waste, and used oil.
• The following agencies – all within the Department of Transportation – for publications solely related to the transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat).
  • Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
  • Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

DISCLAIMER:  Please note that this is my best effort to identify the relevant announcements in the Federal Register that may be of interest to generators of hazardous waste and shippers of hazardous materials.  I encourage you to review the list of Federal Register publications yourself to ensure regulatory compliance.

 June 1, 2015 through June 30, 2015

USEPA – US Environmental Protection Agency:

Publications not related to the management of hazardous waste, solid waste, universal waste, or used oil are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

Idaho: Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program Revision Pages 31338 – 31342 [FR DOC # 2015-12932] PDF | Text | More

Notices:

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Criteria for Classification of Solid Waste Disposal Facilities and Practices, Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements Pages 34154 – 34155 [FR DOC # 2015-14658] PDF | Text | More

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Hazardous Remediation Waste Management Requirements (HWIR Contaminated Media) Pages 34156 – 34157 [FR DOC # 2015-14657] PDF | Text | More

FAA – Federal Aviation Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

FMCSA – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

Incorporation by Reference; North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria; Hazardous Materials Safety Permits Pages 34839 – 34841 [FR DOC # 2015-14961] PDF | Text | More

State Compliance With Commercial Driver’s License Program: Correction Pages 36930 – 36932 [FR DOC # 2015-15906] PDF | Text | More

Proposed Rules:

Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Certification for Commercial Motor Vehicles Operated by United States-Domiciled Motor Carriers Pages 34588 – 34593 [FR DOC # 2015-14934]     PDF | Text | More

Hazardous Materials Safety Permit (HMSP) Program: Amendment to Enforcement Policy Pages 35253 – 35255 [FR DOC # 2015-15091] PDF | Text | More

Notices:

None

FRA – Federal Railroad Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

PHMSA – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration:

Publications not related to the transportation of hazardous materials are not included here.

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

None

Information can be helpful but it’s useless if you are not able to make sense of it.  You must be able to determine how any changes to the rules and regulations (final or proposed) will affect your operations, and communicate the necessary information to your personnel.  I can help you to do that.

Please contact me for a free training consultation to determine your regulatory requirements and how training can help you to attain and maintain compliance with the regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency (and your state) and the PHMSA, FAA, FRA, & FMCSA of the US Department of Transportation.

May 20, 2015: A question from someone with whom I have not yet had the opportunity to do business. In other words, a HazMat Professional – not a customer – who needs help with a question:

Mr. Stoehr,

I was hoping you could answer a question that has been bugging me for a while.

Suppose a freight container, containing 900 pounds of Class 9 hazardous material and 200 pounds of another Table 2 Hazardous material – let’s say it is corrosive- is moving within the US. 49 CFR 172.504(c) makes placards optional* for a freight container with fewer than 1,001 pounds of Table 2 hazardous materials. Further 49 CFR 172.504(f)(9) exempts the showing of the Class 9 placard since the shipment is moving domestically.

I’ve only ever been able to interpret this as follows:
The shipment has 1,100 aggregate gross weight of Table 2 Hazardous Materials, so placards (Corrosive and Class 9) are required. Further the shipment is moving domestically so the Class 9 placard is not required. Therefore the corrosive placard is required.

However some shippers I interact with insist the corrosive placard is not required because the Class 9 hazardous material is exempted from placarding and the remaining hazardous materials are below the 1,001 lb threshold.

Do you know which interpretation is correct? Has a clarification to this issue ever been documented to your knowledge? Any help is appreciated.

P.S. I don’t need an answer to this, but… if my interpretation is correct, could a DANGEROUS placard be used instead of a corrosive placard?

*DTS Note:  “Optional”?  Read this article:  Driver Option to Display Placards @ 49 CFR 172.502(c)

I knew this one was going to take some time, so I replied and let him know I would get back to him soon (4.20.15):

Thanks for the question. I will look into it and get back to you.

My reply on June 2, 2015:

Short answer: A shipper or carrier of HazMat is not required to include the weight of a Class 9 Miscellaneous for the purpose of determining the placarding exception at 49 CFR 172.504(c).

Example: 500 lbs Class 3 Flammable and 600 lbs Class 9 Miscellaneous (both in non-bulk packaging) = No placards required since the aggregate gross weight of HazMat counted toward the threshold is only 500 lbs.
The answer to ‘Why?’ is a little more complicated.

It’s initially confusing because Table 2 at 49 CFR 172.504(e) includes Class 9 Miscellaneous [with a reference to 49 CFR 172.504(f)(9)] and because 49 CFR 172.504(c) specifically includes the HazMat identified in Table 2 in its threshold determination, “…when hazardous materials covered by table 2 of this section are transported by highway or rail…” (emphasis mine).  These two references to Class 9 Miscellaneous along with the other hazard class placards might lead one to think that it is included when determining if the exception at 49 CFR 172.504(c) applies to your mixed cargo of Class 9 Miscellaneous and other HazMat.

However, two regulatory citations – and an old letter of interpretation from PHMSA (09-007)* confirm my earlier ‘short answer’.

Regulation #1: 49 CFR 172.504(a) General, includes the following:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, each bulk packaging, freight container, unit load device, transport vehicle or rail car containing any quantity of a hazardous material must be placarded on each side and each end with the type of placards specified in tables 1 and 2 of this section and in accordance with other placarding requirements of this subpart,…(emphasis mine, again)
So, right off the bat the Part indicates that their might be exceptions to the rule as it initially appears in the regulations.

Regulation #2: 49 CFR 172.504(f)(9), which is referenced in Table 2, states that the Class 9 Miscellaneous placard is not required to be displayed within the U.S. This can be interpreted to mean that it is not counted towards placarding thresholds as well.

The trump card is the PHMSA Letter of Interpretation (09-007)* which clearly states in answer to this question:

Only materials that are covered by Table 2 and that require placarding are included in the aggregate gross weight. Although Class 9 is covered by Table 2, it does not require placarding.

(emphasis mine)

As to your P.S., the answer to that is ‘No’ as well. Given the above is correct, and pursuant to 49 CFR 172.504(b), the Dangerous placard can only be used when two or more hazardous materials that require placarding are present (and, of course, other conditions of using the Dangerous placard are met. For example: When not to use the Dangerous Placard).

I hope this helps.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any other questions.

*DTS Note:  This letter of interpretation from PHMSA/USDOT is valid though, due to its age, it no longer appears on their on-line database.  Perhaps it’s time for someone to request another letter of interpretation on this topic in order to refresh the database?

These kinds of questions come up all the time regarding the transportation of hazardous materials.  And, as you can see, their are as many differences of opinion on the answer as their are questions.  If you can’t find the answers to your questions, then by all means contact me.  I’m more than happy to assist you with your question about HazMat transportation.

A question from someone I’ve assisted in the past (April 21, 2015):

Daniel…..lend me your thoughts…..

Example: I have 2500 lbs. of flammable so I know I have to placard for it specifically.  I also have 200 pounds of corrosive.  Would  I placard for dangerous as well since my gross weight of everything is over 1001, or does placarding for the flammable reset my requirements of 1001 lbs. for placarding for dangerous for the rest.

We have a mix of opinions about the use of the dangerous placard in this scenario.  I myself believe the flammable and dangerous placard should be displayed in the above scenario.  As always I value your opinon and thoughts.  Thanks in advance..

My reply the next day (4.22.15):

Thank you for contacting me.  Below are your options for the situation you describe:

Apparently he didn’t have any other questions, because I didn’t hear from him after that.

More…

• Another question about displaying the Dangerous placard
• When not to use the Dangerous placard on a vehicle

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a question about the transportation of hazardous materials, I’m glad to help.

The Hazardous Material Regulations of the PHMSA/USDOT at 49 CFR 172.704(a)(4) mandate Security Awareness Training be provided to all HazMat Employees with their initial and triennial HazMat Employee Training.  This training should provide an awareness of security risks associated with HazMat transportation and methods designed to enhance transportation security. It must also include a component covering how to recognize and respond to possible security threats.  The purpose of this article is to provide suggested content for Security Awareness Training for HazMat Employees who operate a motor vehicle over a public roadway. (more…)

Pursuant to 49 CFR 172, Subpart C, the shipper of a hazardous material (HazMat) is required to prepare a shipping paper that – unless specifically excepted by the Hazardous Material Regulations – includes the following information:

• The HazMat’s basic description [§172.202(a)(1-4)].
• Total quantity of HazMat (unless by air) [§172.202(a)(5)].  Total quantity by air is at §172.202(a)(6).
• Number and type of packages [§172.202(a)(7)].
• The HazMat’s additional description, if necessary (§172.203)
• Emergency response telephone number [§172.201(d)].
• Shipper’s certification (§172.204).
• And pursuant to §172, Subpart G, emergency response information must be immediately available for use whenever a HazMat is present in transportation.

But we’re not here to review the requirements for a HazMat Shipping paper, the purpose of this article is to identify and explain the requirements of the Dangerous Cargo Manifest when a hazardous material is transported by vessel. (more…)