The Journal of HazMat Transportation
The Journal of HazMat Transportation™ focuses exclusively on providing expert level review and analysis of U.S. and International hazardous materials transportation regulations. For twenty-three years, the Journal has served as an indispensable management tool for both large and small chemical companies and government agencies throughout North America and Europe, providing content in both print and electronic formats.
FINAL RULES
PHMSA Issues International Harmonization Final Rule: HM-215L
By Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor
On January 7, 2013, PHMSA’s HM-215L Final Rule was published in the Federal Register. HM-215 rulemakings typically are issued once every two years to align the DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) with the latest editions of the international regulations. This rulemaking is intended to align the requirements in the HMR with the 2013 – 2014 ICAO Technical Instructions (IATA DGR 54th edition) and the IMDG Code incorporating amendment 36 -12. The changes are largely based on changes introduced in the 17th revised edition of the UN Model Regulations and modal specific changes introduced into the ICAO TI and the IMDG Code. The new requirements are voluntarily effective on January 1, 2013 and mandatorily effective on January 1, 2014.
"As a packaging design professional deeply immersed in complex globalregulatory issues for dangerous goods packaging and responsible forproviding direction and guidance for engineers around the world, I view The Journal of HazMat Transportation™ as an extremely important resource to saveme valuable time while keeping abreast of a myriad of US and Globalregulatory actions. Further, I find in the journal valuable expertcommentary and insight on pending and enacted dangerous goodsregulatory changes which provides us an edge in compliance andpreparedness for future changes. In this business, missing such insightcan be costly, which makes a publication like this quite costeffective."
William O. Gramer
3M Global Package Engineering Center of Excellence
Dangerous Goods
FINAL RULES
PHMSA Issues Final Rule on Appeals to HM-215K and HM-231 Final Rules, Extends ORM-D Transition Period to December 31, 2020 for Transport Other Than by Aircraft
By Ed Mazzullo, Technical Advisor
On January 7, 2013, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule (Docket No. PHMSA-2009-0126 (HM-215K)) in the Federal Register (78 FR 1101) responding to nine administrative appeals addressed to provisions in final rules issued under Docket HM-215K International Harmonization (published January 19, 2011) and Docket HM-231 Miscellaneous Packaging Amendments (published February 2, 2010).
A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this latest HM-215K final rule was published May 25, 2012 (see HazMat Alert 2012-31) to address appeals arising from the January 19, 2011. Thirty-one commenters provided comments to the NPRM. The final rule is effective January 1, 2013.
"The Journal of Hazmat Transportation™ has been a trusted regulatory resource for many years. The Journal is always on top of critical issues and ahead of the curve on pending legislation. The detailed, thoughtful, and well-written articles assist in understanding not just the letter of the regulation, but also the wider-reaching impacts that might not be immediately apparent. Even in these times of tight budgets, I consider The Journal of Hazmat Transportation™ to be a necessary and invaluable tool in doing my job and protecting my company's interest. The annual renewal of my subscription is never in question."
Sandra L. Chapman
The Sherwin Williams Company
Director of Transportation, Corporate Regulatory Affairs
COMMENTS ON U.S. DOT LETTERS OF INTERPRETATION OF THE HMR
By Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor
Hazard Communication on Limited Quantity Packages; 173.315; letter to Bob Cogen, ADG Manager United Parcel Service; dated December 20, 2012
There seems to be a lot of confusion about hazard communication on limited quantity packages. As noted in the UN summary in this edition of the Journal, the confusion appears to be prevalent worldwide to the point where the UN Subcommittee adopted some text for the UN Model Regulations to clarify certain aspects of this issue. The question is, “What hazard communication may appear on a limited quantity package?”
"The Journal of HAZMAT Transportation™ is an extremely valuable asset in my everyday work world as a hazardous material transportation regulatory compliance professional. The articles penned by your Technical Advisors transform complicated regulatory issues into easy to understand verbiage. "The U.S. DOT Rule and Rulemaking Activity" timeline section makes it easy to stay up to date with impending regulations. "The DOT Letters of Interpretation" section of the publication is outstanding. I would recommend "The Journal of HAZMAT Transportation™" to all hazardous material transportation regulatory compliance professionals. If you're looking for the best, you have found it in this publication."
Edward A. Patterson
Sunoco, Inc. (R&M)
Manager, Regulatory Compliance and Emergency Response
INTERNATIONAL
Results of the 42nd Session of the UN Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods
By Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor
The UN Subcommittee held its last meeting of its two year biennium in December 2013, wrapping up work on what will become the 18th revised edition of the UN Model Regulations. The changes adopted will invariably find their way into the regulations effective (voluntarily or mandatorily) on 1 January 2015 in 49 CFR (HMR), ADR/RID, the ICAO TI and the IMDG Code.
"I have been reading The Journal of HazMat Transportation™ for several years now and find it to be an informative and timely resource for dangerous goods information. It addresses domestic, North American, and global transport issues in depth and I rely on it for changes and new developments in these areas; A useful tool for multinational, multimodal shippers."
Bill Gallagher
Global Manager, Hazardous Materials Transportation
PPG Industries, Inc.
PACKAGE TESTING
New Approvals for Third Party Packaging Test Laboratories
By Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor
"The Journal of HAZMAT Transportation™ is an important resource we use to keep informed of current issues involving hazardous materials. In addition to timely and concise articles on hot topics, industry meetings and rulemakings, the Journal also provides detail on recently released interpretations from DOT PHMSA. It is one way we stay informed and a step ahead of ongoing changes in the HAZMAT world."
John Andrus
Southwest Airlines
Director of Safety and Security Promotion, Policy and Procedures
"Veolia ES Technical Solutions, has been a subscriber to the Journal of Hazmat Transportation™ for over 13 years. During this time we've found the Journal to be the premier resource when it comes to timely, accurate and in-depth coverage of the latest topics concerning hazmat transportation compliance. As the Director of our company's transportation compliance activities, I've come to rely greatly upon the information provided in the Journal as we develop and implement company policy to keep our operations in compliance. The rule summaries and interpretations presented are insightful and technically accurate. This is the best publication hands down for the hazmat transportation compliance professional. Keep up the good work!"
Tom Baker
Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C.
Director, Environment & Transportation
FMCSA PROPOSED RULES
FMCSA Proposes Rules to Suspend or Revoke Motor Carrier Operating Authority for Egregious Disregard for Safety Compliance
By Ed Mazzullo, Technical Advisor
On November 13, 2012, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (77 FR 67613) proposing regulations to enable the agency to suspend or revoke the operating authority registration of motor carriers that either have shown egregious disregard for safety compliance or permit persons who have shown egregious disregard for safety compliance to act on their behalf.
"Brown Chemical Company has been a subscriber to The Journal of HazMat Transportation™ for many years. We have found this publication to be extremely valuable in our efforts to remain in compliance with the storage, packaging, labeling and transportation of regulated materials. Additionally, The Journal of HazMat Transportation provides insightful analysis and interpretation of new and proposed regulations as they are published, which gives our firm a critical real-world understanding of Federal & State standards. Any Company whose business model involves the storage, packaging, labeling and transportation of hazardous materials should not be without this publication. Thanks for your continued excellent efforts to provide clarity to the HazMat industry."
Douglas A. Brown
Brown Chemical Co., Inc.
President
DANGEROUS GOODS BY RAIL
FRA Issues Second Revision to One Time Movement Approval Procedures Guidance
On October 31, 2012, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a second revision to its Hazardous Materials Guidance (HMG-127) for submitting requests for approvals for one time movement of non-conforming or leaking rail cars and other bulk packagings. FRA exercises authority to issue one-time movement approvals (OTMAs) for transportation by railroad under the provisions of 49 CFR 174.50.
"The Journal of HazMat Transportation™ certainly is worthy of a most excellent endorsement. Every new issue hits a number of DG/HazMat issues I'm currently struggling with spot-on. Confusion is certainly the enemy of safety and I personally appreciate The Journal's efforts to bring clarity and guidance to DG/HazMat transportation.
William D. Maduzia
Chevron Corporation
Senior Technical Advisor Dangerous Goods Legislation & Regulations
COMMENTS ON U.S. DOT LETTERS OF INTERPRETATION OF THE HMR
Selective Testing of Hazardous Materials Packages
Analysis of an DOT Interpretation Based on Selective Testing Variation 5: 178.601(g)(5)
By Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor
In this letter, DOT responds to a question concerning selective testing provisions applicable to UN performance packaging. See DOT’s letter in this issue. The provisions in 49 CFR 178.601 were developed at the time the UN performance packaging requirements were first being introduced in the HMR. At that time, everyone was concerned about the number of packages that would need to be tested to address every variation in packaging. The UN requirements at that time already had the provision now found in 6.1.5.1.5 that allows the competent authority to permit “selective testing of packagings that differ only in minor respects from a tested design.”
"I am writing to thank you for The Journal of HazMat Transportation™. I have found this publication to be a wonderful source of information. The format is reader-friendly and the information is invaluable. The writers are experienced and the articles are well written and timely. I most appreciate the section of letters written to DOT along with DOT's interpretation. I find many times, issues are addressed that I myself have questioned. Keep up the good work, I appreciate the effort you and your staff make to produce a quality publication."
Linda Boardman
Manufacturing Engineer, AGFA Corporation
HAZMATTRAINING
Hazmat Training Questions
By Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor
Issues have arisen recently about compliance with DOT hazmat training requirements. WHO should certify the training of hazmat employees? HOW does an employer certify compliance? WHAT constitutes maintenance of adequate training records?
"The Journal of Hazmat Transportation™ and the associated databases for archived issues and DOT interpretations are key elements in our transportation regulatory compliance monitoring portfolio. The timely email alerts sent by JHMT regarding new or changing requirements help maintain our awareness of upcoming regulatory changes. The databases offer us the convenience to access and review archived articles and DOT letters of interpretation on topics of importance. I highly recommend relying on JHMT to help fulfill your transportation regulatory compliance needs."
Debora Hooper
The Lubrizol Corporation
Corporate HSES Mgr. Transport Regulations
Our reports cover all domestic and international regulatory changes that impact the hazardous materials shipper, packaging producer, and carriers. The Journal of HazMat Transportation™ thoroughly covers and provides technical reviews of the: U.S. 49CFR, International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, and the ADR/RID (European Road and Rail Regulations).
View Endorsements here
Read About Our Technical Advisors here
See the contents pages of the current issue. For summaries of analysis presented in the past 12 issues, visit Recent Issue Summaries.
More information on the features of our print and electronic components can be viewed here.
Subscribers have access to the searchable Reference Gateway and HazMat Database which contain thousands of articles, reports, DOT Interpretations and our exclusive comments on the DOT interpretations.