A sampling of what you've missed in the March / April 2007 issue of HAZMAT Packager & Shipper...

As a Subscriber, you would have learned ....

     about a recent incident data analysis by PHMSA shows that 27% of serious incidents occurred during hazmat loading and unloading procedures.  There are indications that in many of the serious incidents that occurred while the hazmat was enroute or in storage may be traced back to the loading operation.  Numbers in the analysis support the NTSB contention that loading and unloading requirements are inadequate.  NTSB is pushing PHMSA to focus their efforts more strongly on loading and unloading.

about a draft regulation implementing the GHS in Europe that is under development and what it will cover.  You will learn about the expected timing for its implementation and how the EU plans to establish a data base on industry chemical classifications to be managed in Europe.  Companies will be able to submit classification data on individual chemicals. 

that when the concept of “consumer commodities” was previously discussed at the UN Sub-Committee several years ago, tremendous resistance was offered from some quarters regarding the fundamental concept.  The problems are further exacerbated by the fact that since the ADR/RID “limited quantities’ require only a package marking but no documentation (i.e., essentially the same types of requirements and relaxations that apply to “consumer commodities” under the HMR), there is little interest in, nor is there any practical need in the opinion of some for creating the separate category of “consumer commodity” to ease distribution of consumer products in Europe.  Achieving an end result similar to the consumer commodities provisions in the HMR will, without question, be very difficult. 

that recent changes to an existing directive, European Commission (EC) Directive 1999/45/EEC, affecting the classification of substances and mixtures as “Pollutants to the Aquatic Environment” have been automatically adopted in Europe. In this case, the amendment gave Member States a deadline of 1 March 2007 to bring the changes into effect.  As such mixtures transported in Europe will have to be classified according to new values after that date. 

    that DOT published a final rule in the Federal Register on January 31, 2007,  Docket HM-224B,for the transportation of compressed oxygen, other oxidizing gases and chemical oxygen generators on aircraft.  The HM-224 series of rulemakings was initiated in the aftermath of the 1996 crash of ValuJet Airlines flight 596.  This new final rule addresses further issues raised in the wake of this accident.  The preamble indicates that PHMSA is issuing the final rule in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to “enhance the level of safety associated with the transportation of [oxygen, oxidizing gases, and chemical oxygen generators] aboard aircraft.”  It will significantly affect persons shipping these materials. 

    that statistical data developed by HAZMAT Packager & Shipper indicate that DOT citations are increasing.  The data indicates that security plan violations were the second largest category enforced by PHMSA, accounting for 18% of violations.  It was exceeded only by the number of citations for failure to provide function-specific and safety training to hazmat employees.