It all began with a telephone call on November 18, 2020:

We receive hazardous materials delivered to our facility in a freight container. The freight container displays the required placards. The carrier deposits the freight container at our facility and departs. We unload the HazMat from the freight container over the next few hours. When making the next delivery the carrier retrieves the now empty freight container and take it I know not where.

A freight container

It is been an ongoing argument with the carrier as to who is responsible for removing the placards from the empty freight container. They are displayed so high on the freight container that any effort by us to remove or deface them requires use of a ladder and safety issues we don’t wish to deal with. The driver refuses to remove the placards. The carrier will not pick up the empty freight container unless all of the placards are removed or covered up.

What are our options? Can the empty freight container be transported with the placards displayed? Are we responsible for removal of the placards? Or, is it the responsibility of the driver / carrier?

Please help us resolve this issue!

My reply:

Thank you for contacting me. Please see below for guidance:

• Unfortunately, there are no clear directions in the hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to indicate who is responsible for the removal of hazard communication (e.g., placards, marks, labels) from any HazMat packaging or the freight container. However, 49 CFR 171.2 requires all forms of hazard communication to be removed from a package or vehicle if the HazMat is no longer present. Thus, all placards must be removed prior to transportation of the empty freight container. (LOI 03-0251)
• Most responsibilities for the preparation of a HazMat and its packaging for transportation fall on the shipper (aka; the person who offers or the offeror of the HazMat). In this situation the empty freight container is being re-offered for transportation. It is the person who re-offers it for transportation that must ensure any existing placards not applicable to the current load are removed. (LOI 05-0050)

So…

• The placards must be removed prior to transportation of the empty freight container.
• This must be done by the person who re-offers the freight container for transport (i.e., the shipper).

Answer: It depends. Whoever arranges for the transport of the freight container once empty is the shipper and is therefore responsible for removal of the placards unless they have an agreement with someone else, e.g., the carrier or some other third party, who will perform all the responsibilities of the shipper or just that specific function.

It is not a clear-cut answer, but I think it is all we will get.

Conclusion:

Unfortunately, the requirements, responsibilities, and directives of the HMR are not always clear. In this situation, it hinges on one question: “Who is the shipper?” If you are the shipper of a HazMat, the carrier, or simply receive HazMat, you are subject to the regulations of the USDOT/PHMSA and require some form of HazMat Employee training.