As a shipper of hazardous materials, you are likely comfortable with routine HazMat shipments:
- Offer a hazardous material for transportation to a carrier.
- Carrier transports HazMat to destination.
- HazMat received at destination.
Sometimes, however, you’re faced with a non-routine situation: you or an employee must transport a hazardous material by motor vehicle over a public roadway. The need is not limited to, but may include, any one of the following:
- A ‘sister’ facility requires a small amount of product or raw material from your location.
- You are required to transport a sample of some material to an off-site location for analysis.
- You must deliver a product to a customer.
- A hazardous material is necessary to provide a service to a customer at their location.
- A hazardous material is necessary to conduct a maintenance service activity at an off-site location.
In any of these situations your concern may be that as a shipper of hazardous materials (one who offers hazardous materials for transportation) you are not allowed to perform the role of a carrier (one who transports hazardous materials in commerce). You may not be aware that the Hazardous Materials Regulations contain an option for shippers of HazMat in this situation. Known as the Materials of Trade Exception and codified at 49 CFR 173.6, it was created to simplify the transportation of…
- Certain hazardous materials…
- In small quantities…
- By motor vehicle over a public roadway.
Continue reading to see if the Materials of Trade Exception may be of use to you.
A Material of Trade is defined at 49 CFR 171.8 as a hazardous material, not a hazardous waste, that is carried on a motor vehicle for one of three purposes:
- To protect the health and safety of the motor vehicle operator or passengers (e.g., bug spray, fire extinguisher).
A fire extinguisher on a motor vehicle is subject to the Materials of Trade Exception
- To support the operation or maintenance of a motor vehicle (e.g., spare battery, gasoline).
- Or, by a private motor carrier in direct support of a principal business that is other than transportation by motor vehicle.
And just what is a “private motor carrier”? It’s a carrier that transports their own products and does not provide such transportation services to other businesses (LOI 09-0232).
So, looking just at #3 of the above as the most applicable definition of a Material of Trade, as long as you are not in the business of HazMat transportation (i.e., a carrier) and are transporting your own products, then the HazMat can meet the definition of a Material of Trade. You must then comply with the regulatory limits on the type and quantity of hazardous materials to be transported according to the Materials of Trade Exception.
The limits in §173.6 on the type and quantity of HazMat that may be transported as Materials of Trade are summarized in Table 1:
Table 1
|
Class or Division |
Common Name |
Packing Group |
Container Capacity Limits |
| Flammable Gas(Division 2.1) |
Acetylene, propane |
N/A |
|
| Non-flammable Gas (Division 2.2) |
Oxygen, nitrogen |
||
| Flammable or Combustible Liquid (Class 3) |
Paint, paint thinner, gasoline |
I |
0.5 kg (1 lb) or 0.5 L (1 pt) |
|
II or III |
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
||
| Flammable Solid (Division 4.1) |
Charcoal |
I |
0.5 kg (1 lb) or 0.5 L (1 pt) |
|
II or III |
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
||
| Dangerous When Wet Material(Division 4.3) |
Some fumigants |
II or III |
Capacity of packaging ≤30 ml (1 oz). |
| Oxidizers(Division 5.1) |
Bleaching compounds |
I |
0.5 kg (1 lb) or 0.5 L (1 pt) |
|
II or III |
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
||
| Organic Peroxides(Division 5.2) |
Benzoyl peroxide |
I |
0.5 kg (1 lb) or 0.5 L (1 pt) |
|
II or III |
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
||
| Poisons(Division 6.1) |
Pesticides |
I |
0.5 kg (1 lb) or 0.5 L (1 pt) |
|
II or III |
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
||
| Some Infectious Substances(Division 6.2) |
Diagnostic specimens |
N/A |
Refer to 49 CFR 173.6(a)(4) |
| Corrosive Materials(Class 8) |
Muriatic acid, drain cleaners, battery acid |
I |
0.5 kg (1 lb) or 0.5 L (1 pt) |
|
II or III |
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
||
| Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials(Class 9) |
Asbestos, self-inflating lifeboats |
I |
0.5 kg (1 lb) or 0.5 L (1 pt)
|
|
II or III
|
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
||
| 1,500 L (400 gal) for a diluted mixture (≤2%) | |||
| Consumer commodities(ORM-D) |
Hair spray, spray paints |
N/A |
30 kg (66 lb) or 30 L (8 gal) |
HazMat that may not take advantage of the Materials of Trade Exception are:
- Self-reactive per §173.124.
- Poisonous by inhalation per §173.133.
- Hazardous waste as defined by USDOT/PHMSA at §171.8.
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You must also comply with requirements of the exception for packaging, hazard communication, aggregate weight, and informing the driver:
Packaging:
In general, the Materials of Trade Exception does not require specification packaging as is required for other HazMat shipments. Packaging requirements include:
- Use the manufacturer’s original packaging or one of equal or greater strength and integrity.
- Packagings must be leak tight for liquids and gases and sift-proof for solids.
- Packages must be securely closed, secured against movement, and protected from damage.
- Outer packagings are not required for cans or bottles if they are secured against shifting in cages, carts, bins, boxes, or compartments.
- For gasoline, the packaging must be made of metal or plastic and be in USDOT/PHMSA authorized packaging or comply with OSHA regulations at 29 CFR 1910.106(d)(2) or 1926.152(a)(1).
- Cylinders or pressure vessels containing Division 2.1 or 2.2 compressed gases must be in USDOT/PHMSA authorized packaging. However, outer packagings are not required. Manifolding of cylinders is allowed provided all valves are tightly closed.
- The limits to each container’s capacity is indicated in Table 1.
Hazard Communication:
The Materials of Trade Exception has simple requirements for communicating the potential hazards of the HazMat. Not required are shipping papers, labels, placards, or emergency information. Hazard Communication requirements are limited to marking the packaging as follows:
- A non-bulk packaging must be marked with a common name (e.g., gasoline, spray paint, fuel sample) or a proper shipping name from the Hazardous Materials Table. This requirement does not apply to a cylinder.
- A cylinder must be marked according to the full regulations of the Hazardous Materials Regulations. DOT specification cylinders must be marked as required by §178.65(i).
- If a non-bulk packaging contains a Reportable Quantity of a Hazardous Substance, then it must also be marked with the letters “RQ”.
- A dilute Class 9 Miscellaneous material in a bulk packaging must be marked with the 4-digit identification number for the HazMat on two opposing sides.
Inform the Driver:
Interestingly, HazMat Employee training is not required for the operator of a vehicle utilizing the Materials of Trade Exception. However, you are required to inform the driver of the requirements of this section. I suggest you inform him of what is being transported, its potential hazards, and the applicable packaging and marking requirements. And while no documentation of your informing the driver is required, I suggest you create some record to provide in the event of an inspection.
Aggregate Gross Weight:
The aggregate gross weight of all Materials of Trade on a vehicle must be ≤200 kg (440 lb). However, a dilute Class 9 Miscellaneous material in a bulk packaging is not counted toward the vehicle aggregate weight threshold.
Other Considerations:
Other hazardous materials not subject to the exception may be transported on the motor vehicle with the Materials of Trade as long as they are in compliance with the applicable regulations of the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
Conclusion:
Refer to this PHMSA brochure for guidance on the Materials of Trade Exception
With minimal effort on your part, you may transport hazardous materials by motor vehicle on public roadways under the Materials of Trade Exception. Hopefully this will allow you to conduct business in a manner that is both profitable and safe. Contact me with any questions you may have regarding the transportation of hazardous materials, with or without this exception.
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