Factors to consider when selecting containers
By Staff -- Purchasing, 12/10/1998
It's basic, but the most important part about shipping or storing hazardous materials is to get the container right. If an improper container is specified in this critical area of packaging, all other factors don't matter.Chemical compatibility between container and product is essential. Example: A corrosive material would be better suited to a polyethylene package. But this must be in addition to all the other serious concerns: volume, container attributes, and price.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) divides chemicals into three packing groups. In general, packing groups II and III are approved for rigid plastic containers. Packing group I chemicals would most often have to be in metal containers. Using containers for chemical storage is covered under different National Fire Protection Association (nfpa) rules.
Compliance is not easy. Complying with shipping regulations runs from correctly classifying the hazardous materials being shipped, to correctly labeling and identifying the materials. It also must be determined by what means the material can be shipped and, eventually, stored.
Recent storage fire-tests
Early this fall, the Steel Shipping Container Institute (ssci) funded tests at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, to test the viability of steel drums stacked higher than one-high during fires. The nfpa (code 30) previously did not include provisions for palletized drums to be stacked any higher. The rule did allow for the containers to be stacked two-high, only if they were made with a pressure-relieving valve, a safety relief that would reduce pressure built up during a fire.
Since steel drum makers like to stress the advantage of stacking drums four-high on pallets, the industry wanted to clarify that steel drums filled with hazardous--in this case, flammable and combustible--liquids are safe to be stacked four-high in a warehouse fire scenario. Steel drums filled with heptane were fitted with nylon safety-relief closures and stacked four-high on protected pallets. They passed the test. The ssci is confident that when the nfpa regulations are revised in 2000, the new storage heights will be worked into the rule.
Stay ahead of changes
Testing and approval of hazmat containers for transport or storage is an evolving, on-going process. New containers, advancements, and ideas are always being developed. Buyers must be alert to what is going on in the marketplace, as well as what new rules or revisions are being explored. Container suppliers are well aware of what's happening, and most are available to help explain what potential legislation could mean to you. Buyers would be well advised to tap this resource.
There are other ways to help buyers keep current in hazmat packaging. Dozens of companies specializing in training for hazardous materials have courses in shipping and container management. Hazmat training often is thought to be about what to do with "the accident," but it is equally if not more valuable to train professionally for container selection, to understand guidelines and the basics of shipping hazardous goods. Here's just two examples of companies that offer these services: International Compliance Center headquartered in Niagara Falls, N.Y. and the Professional Training Institute in Los Angeles, Calif. And there are dozens of others across the country.
If training is not needed, good information still is. Buyers should keep up to date on rule changes and labeling requirements. Several companies specialize in the "rules" of the hazardous materials area. For example, Unz & Company of New Providence, N.J., offers publications on rules and regulations plus information on documentation and labeling for shippers and receivers of hazmat goods. It is also very much worth a visit to the DOT's hazmat Web page at http://hazmat.dot.gov. It contains information on new and pending legislation and some in-depth information about the rules of shipping hazardous goods.
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