Government can help with hazmat transport

By Sarah Stone -- Purchasing, 3/11/1999 7:00:00 AM

No matter how you slice it, arranging for the transport of hazardous materials is complicated, time-consuming, and fraught with opportunities for disaster. Transportation executives whose companies are routinely involved in hazmat shipping of bulk products such as chemicals are faced with what's probably the most daunting task in the transportation world.

Whether it's finding the way through the maze of regulatory language, training hazmat personnel, choosing a route, or meshing the requirements of countries other than the U.S. into the transport plan, working out the details of getting a toxic chemical or radioactive substance from one place to another is as full of pitfalls as a Bosnian minefield.

What is not as well known is how much help the U.S. Government is willing to give to shippers and carriers--usually free or at low cost. The federal government has devoted a lot of resources to developing hazmat services and information, and is willing to offer help wherever needed. By taking advantage of these services, the shipping professional can cut time off the process and reduce the chances of disaster, all in an economically efficient way.

All issues of hazmat safety are the bailiwick of the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (ohms), a section of the Research and Special Programs Administration, part of the Department of Transportation of the U.S. Government. The ohms sets standards, develops and revises regulations, provides training guidelines, and interacts with other agencies. It is also a fountain of information for the shipping executive who knows how to tap into it.

There are five issues that most commonly arise in the context of bulk shipping, along with questions that shippers might ask themselves:

* Regulations. What do they say? Which ones apply to me? How can I find out if there have been changes?

* Exemptions. Am I eligible for an exemption? How do I apply?

* Training. Who needs to be trained and to what level? Do I have to hire an outside trainer?

* Emergencies. What do I need to do in the event of spills or other emergencies?

* International shipping. How can I be sure I am complying with other countries' regulations?

Navigating the regulations

The issue most often cited as a problem for shippers is simply figuring out which regulations apply to them and what they mean. Interpreting regulatory language is something of a fine art, but the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety offers several ways to get a handle on what it means. First, it offers an overview of the regulations on its Web site (www.hazmat.dot.gov). This basic outline details who is covered by the laws, what the penalties for violations are, and gives a basic overview of training and emergency requirements. The same site also offers the full text of the regulations (49 CFR Parts 100-185). The full text also is available from the Government Printing Office.

Then, to help clarify the inevitable questions that will arise, there is a "frequently asked questions" section on the Web site. Also, there is faxable information available from the ohms fax-on-demand service, and various hard-copy publications and instructional videos are available from the office. Finally, ohms maintains an information center to answer questions (see box for phone numbers for the GPO, Fax on Demand, and information center).

Exemptions and approvals

Some materials or situations are sufficiently unusual that it's necessary to get a special opinion or authorization before shipping, or there is some compelling reason why a particular shipment should not be subject to the usual regulations for its class. Not surprisingly, a shipper can't just make those decisions and proceed to ship.

Application must be made to the Office of Hazardous Materials Exceptions and Approvals, according to very specific guidelines. Here again, though, help is available. ohmea accepts questions by phone and e-mail (see box) and also has a number of documents available online that explain the procedures and detail which circumstances require exemption or approval.

Training

When it comes to training, requirements for who must be trained are simple: all employees involved with hazmat transport. Areas of training include safe packaging, loading, unloading, handling, storing, transporting, and emergency response.

Many shippers have the misapprehension that they must hire an outside trainer to conduct all hazmat training. This is not the case. An in-house trainer may be selected as long as he or she teaches the appropriate materials and the employees meet the requirements. Although many training programs by private organizations exist, ohms provides materials and services for training, many of which are free.

First are various training modules, available either as free ".pdf" files (files that require Acrobat Reader to download), or on cd-rom. These include teacher and student units. Modules available are: "The Hazardous Materials Table," "Shipping Papers," "Packaging," "Marking and Labeling," "Placarding," "Carrier Requirements (Highway)," and "Carrier Requirements (Air)."

If those are not enough or if a shipper chooses to send employees off site, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Safety Institute offers safety training classes in Oklahoma City. (See box for contact information.) And on the ohms Web site, there are lists of outside hazmat training services, both commercial and non-profit.

Emergency response

The area that concerns the public the most when it comes to hazmat transport is emergency response. Do carriers and shippers know exactly what to do in case of a spill, hijacking, explosion, or other disaster? The government's help comes at three points of a possible disaster scenario: First, emergency prevention is an integral part of all training required by the regulations. All employees, from packers to drivers, must know what to do in the event of an accident, and the various training options outlined above all include this.

Second, ohms has produced an Emergency Response Handbook, geared to first responders such as paramedics and police, but also of great use to shippers and carriers. Third, and most important from the viewpoint of the shipper, federal law requires that all incidents be reported according to very specific guidelines.

Two reports are actually required: An immediate report and a more detailed one to be completed later. The requirements for both are outlined in 49 CFR 171.15 and 171.16, which are available either via the Web site or the GPO. Also available on the Web site are Form F 5800.1, the required reporting form, and guidelines for preparing the form.

Foreign regs and U.S. shippers

As complicated as it is to ship hazardous materials within the U.S., the problem increases exponentially when a shipment has to cross national borders, since the standards set by the United States for hazmat shipping are different from those of most other countries, and international shipments must abide by both.

The United Nations has developed a series of recommendations for the transport of hazardous materials, and it is these recommendations that form the basis for most countries' regulations and standards. The full text of these recommendations is available from the U.N. (see box for contact information).

Specific documents pertaining to different modes and countries are available at the ohms Web site.

These five categories are far from the only services offered by the various governmental bodies that regulate hazardous materials. For example, the Federal Highway Administration offers an online route registry for non-radioactive shipments that produces custom reports detailing route restrictions and designations (see box). The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board offers news, statistical summaries, meetings, and links. Other agencies of the government, such as the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, also offer useful information.

Is my bulk shipment a hazardous material?

Yes, if it falls into one of the following categories:

1. Explosives

2. Gases

3. Flammable and combustible liquids

4. Flammable solids

5. Oxidizers and organic peroxides

6. Poisons

7. Radioactive materials

8. Corrosives

9. Miscellaneous: hazardous waste, for example

10. ORM-D: Other regulated material, hazardous because of its form, quantity or packaging

11. Poisonous inhalation hazards

Useful contacts for bulk hazmat transport

Office of Hazardous Materials Safety

http://hazmat.dot.org

Information Center: 1-800-467-4922, M-F 9-5 EST

Fax on Demand: 1-800-467-4922, Option 2

Government Printing Office

http://access.gpo.gov

1-888-293-6498

Office of Hazardous Materials Exceptions and Approvals

1-202-366-4535

e-mail: oa@rspa.dot.gov

Department of Transportation Transportation Safety Institute

1-800-858-2107

United Nations Publications

1-800-253-9646

e-mail: publications@un.org

FHWA Route Registry

http://hazmat.fhwa.dot.gov

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

www.chemsafety.gov

1-202-261-7600