According to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) Manual, “Dangerous goods (also known as hazardous materials, or hazmat) are articles or substances which are capable of posing a hazard to health, safety, property, or the environment.” Because these products pose a serious danger and require a tremendous amount of care and attention, it’s important to know and be able to identify what constitutes a hazardous good.
The following are several examples of hazardous materials:
This is just a shortlist of examples; there are many more hazardous goods than the ones listed above.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates the transportation of materials in the United States (US). DOT’s specific regulations decide what makes the list of hazardous materials and specify how to conduct every aspect of shipping hazardous materials. The prerequisites and entire process of sending a hazardous good may appear excessive, but these stipulations are necessary to ensure the proper and safe transportation of dangerous products.
Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the Department of Transportation’s regulations for transporting hazardous materials via the U.S. road system. The steps required to ship hazmat domestically in the US are as follows:
Determine whether a consumer product is hazardous or not.
Refer to the SDS information to correctly fill out the Hazardous material table (shown above).
Pack, mark, and label your hazardous goods.
Work with your carrier of choice.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines and works closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to provide regulations for shipping hazardous materials internationally. The steps required to ship hazmat internationally are as follows:
Identify, prep, and declare hazardous goods for shipment.
The dangerous goods checklist must be completed by an operator. The operator, or carrier, is responsible for transporting the goods to their destination.
Operators are responsible for loading hazardous packages onto their respective trucks, boats, or planes to ensure their proper transportation.
IATA provides a much more detailed list of how to complete all the procedures required to ship hazardous goods.
All references to IATA sections or instructions below can be found here.
There are several dangerous goods special cases that either require further or fewer regulations. These variations include de minimis quantities, consumer commodities, limited quantities, excepted quantities, and infectious substances like dry ice and lithium batteries. These variations determine the necessary requirements for shipping and are discussed in further detail below.
De minimis quantities, in this case, refers to the threshold amount of hazmat in a shipment. When a hazmat commodity is under the de minimis threshold (1mL for liquids and 1g for solids per each inner package), possible shipping variations may be required, but the shipment needs to be correctly identified by the shipper. If the hazmat shipment meets the following stipulations, then it’s subject to different regulations:
Consumer commodities are hazardous materials packaged in a form intended or suitable for retail sale. Domestically shipped consumer commodities fall under the class of Other Regulated Material (ORM-D) according to the U.S. DOT regulations. Internationally shipped consumer commodities fall under Class 9 (Miscellaneous- doesn’t fit the qualifications of any other class).
Consumer commodity shipments must:
Consumer commodity shipments are exempt from:
There is a UN Dangerous Goods List that has more than 2,000 entries of the most frequently transported dangerous goods. Section 7a of the list indicates the maximum amount per inner packaging that qualifies hazmat as a limited quantity shipment.
Limited quantity shipments must:
Limited quantity shipments are exempt from:
Section 7b of the UN Dangerous Goods List provides a code that can be referenced to specify the maximum quantity per inner and outer packaging for hazmat items that qualify as an excepted quantities shipment.
Excepted quantity shipments must:
Excepted quantity shipments are exempt from:
Infectious substances are substances containing microorganisms that are known or reasonably expected to cause disease in humans or animals. There are specific stipulations when shipping infectious substances. The substances must be shipped using IATA instructions 3.6.2.
Only preowned, damaged, or defective electronic devices with lithium batteries must go on surface transportation. The regulation does not apply to new cellphones shipping out from the original manufacturers or their authorized sellers. Regular rules remain such as, labeling or non-labeling requirements for these devices.
Section 107.329 of Title 49 CFR states that a person who knowingly violates a requirement of the Federal hazardous material transportation law or a similar offense can face a civil penalty of up to 84,425 USD. However, the maximum civil penalty is 196,992 USD for violations that result in death, severe injury, serious illness, or substantial destruction of property. The minimum civil penalty is 508 USD for training violations. If the violation continues, each occurrence of the violation necessitates a separate offense.
Section 107.333 of Title 49 CFR states that a person who knowingly violates a requirement of the Federal hazardous material transportation law or a similar offense can face a criminal penalty of the maximum civil penalties (previous paragraph) in addition to up to five years in prison. If the violation involves the release of hazardous material and results in death or bodily injury, the maximum prison time is ten years.
To avoid these fines, refer to the legal requirements clearly defined by the CFR and IATA in the training and responsibilities section when shipping hazmat.
Throughout the entire process of prepping and shipping hazardous goods, shippers should be in close contact with their carriers. This will ensure that accurate information and additional requirements are complete. Carriers assist in the careful and safe arrival of dangerous goods. The following are various carrier resources for hazmat shipping:
Hazardous goods are no joke. The danger they could cause is real, and the severity of the penalties reflects that. The importance of following the regulations put forth by the Department of Transportation and the International Air Transport Association cannot be overstated.
Who offers dangerous goods training? How do I become dangerous goods certified?
IATA offers DGR courses and diplomas to help you stay up to date with the latest industry regulations and procedures to ensure your dangerous goods shipments comply with industry standards. IATA has an industry-recognized DGR Manual, which will assist you in gaining your certificate to handle dangerous goods shipments.
How long does it take to complete my Dangerous Goods Training?
First, you must receive initial dangerous goods training, which is for anyone who has not received previous training or for employees whose previous training certificate has expired. Then you must take revalidation training every two years for Dangerous Goods by Air, and three years on all other courses.
References
Packaging Your Dangerous Goods
Dangerous goods in excepted quantities Definition | Law insider
Shipping hazardous goods: Everything you need to know
With the dangers and restrictions that come when handling and shipping hazardous materials, it is important to have a clear understanding of the following to ensure the safety of your hazmat packages and those handling them: