Hopefully, everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend. If you’re a spring breaker, maybe you’re seeing this after returning home from a trip. Hope it was fun! Here’s the latest and rather brief regulatory news:
OSHA
The agency released a proposed rule that will delay the requirement to equip ladders with enhanced safety systems. See the rule here:
Labelmaster/DGEO is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
It’s the end of March already! Believe it or not, summer is coming sooner than we all think, so now’s a good time to start thinking about any necessary revisions to your workplace’s heat safety plans. Your site probably has new employees that weren’t around last summer, so plan to ensure that they know how to work in summer conditions before summer actually arrives. Meanwhile, here’s the latest regulatory news:
EPA
The agency is proposing to extend certain compliance dates applicable to entities subject to the regulation of perchloroethylene (PCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA is proposing to extend certain Workplace Chemical Protection Program (WCPP) compliance dates for non-federal owners and operators to match the compliance dates for federal agencies and their contractors.
For both PCE and CTC, this proposal would extend the compliance date for initial monitoring for inhalation exposure to June 21, 2027
It would extend the compliance date to meet the existing chemical exposure limit (ECEL), establish a regulated area, provide any required respiratory personal protective equipment (PPE), and establish a respiratory PPE program to September 20, 2027
For PCE it would extend the compliance date for non-federal entities to establish and implement an exposure control plan to December 20, 2027
The agency is also proposing to extend the reporting deadline for the Health and Safety Data Reporting Rule under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) by one year to May 21, 2027. The proposed extension is intended to delay compliance with this one-time reporting rule during EPA’s ongoing reconsideration of the rule. Comments must be received on or before April 29, 2026. See the NPRM here:
Labelmaster/DGEO is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
It’s March Madness time! How’s your bracket doing so far? Just remember to bracket safety in between all those basketball games! Meanwhile, here’s the latest regulatory news:
PHMSA
The agency pushed out yet another tranche of Special Permit actions. Find them at the links provided here:
The agency published an ICR related to its Unified Carrier Registration Plan. FMCSA administer a database of common carrier truck lines authorized to operate in commerce in the US. See the ICR below:
Labelmaster/DGEO is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
Edit: The links have been corrected, sorry for the confusion.
It’s time for “March Madness” in the world of college basketball, but the world of DG and HSE regulations just keeps chugging along doing its safe best to protect the logistics chain. Here’s the latest news:
PHMSA
The agency will host a public Research, Development, & Technology Forum (Forum) from March 31–April 2, 2026, in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The Forum will provide an opportunity for PHMSA-funded research projects to present the results of recently completed or ongoing projects. OHMS will discuss upcoming hazardous materials transportation research project plans and obtain stakeholder input on the direction of OHMS’s current and future research projects. Potential topics include:
• Efficient Safety Standards • Risk Reduction for Emergency Response • Safe Energy Storage Technologies • Innovative Packaging
During the Forum, OHMS will host subject matter experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the hazardous materials transportation industry. Additionally, OHMS will solicit input and feedback related to potential research topics that may be considered for future work and gather and review research need statements from industry, academia, and other stakeholders.
Find more information and how to participate at the link:ented, so if your site handles hazardous waste, it’s a good idea to look this proposal over. See it here:
The agency also released another tranche of Letters of Interpretation or LOI. Such letters represent PHMSA feedback to stakeholders that sought guidance as to the agency’s interpretations of specific regulatory language. While they do not bear the same force of law as a regulation does, they nevertheless present important information about how PHMSA itself views the legal structures they enforce. Find the most recent such LOI’s here:
Labelmaster/DGEO is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
Severe storms swept across the southern plains over the last weekend, leading to significant damage and tragic loss of life. It’s another reminder that this time of year can bring dangerous weather, so please be sure your workplace plan is ready and your employees are trained to respond. Forewarned is forearmed. Here’s last week’s regulatory news of note:
EPA
In an important new action, the U.S. agency is proposing (via an NPRM) regulatory amendments to the hazardous waste manifest regulations to establish a date for prohibiting the use of paper manifests in favor of using only electronic manifests. Phaseout of paper manifests would be two years from the date of publication of any finalized rule. The proposed rule also introduces several conforming amendments to existing regulations. These include:
new registration requirements with the EPA’s e-Manifest system for RCRA hazardous waste transporters, certain PCB waste generators, and PCB waste transporters
updates to exception reporting requirements for very small quantity generators (VSQGs) managing hazardous waste from episodic events, as well as for healthcare facilities and reverse distributors handling hazardous waste pharmaceuticals
revisions to discrepancy reporting requirements for owners and operators of hazardous waste facilities operating under standardized permits
technical corrections to the import and export requirements to correct or remove obsolete text
Comments must be received on or before May 4, 2026. This is a huge change if implemented, so if your site handles hazardous waste, it’s a good idea to look this proposal over. See it here:
The agency published a list of “do’s and don’ts” for Substance Abuse Treatment Professionals that participate in DOT regulated testing and treatment programs. See the guidance here:
The agency published an ICR related to its Hexavalent Chromium Standard. It’s a hazardous heavy metal that is regulated in its use and handling. See the ICR here:
Labelmaster/DGEO is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
Then you’ll love sharing these DG eCards on Twitter!
What are DG eCards?
They’re amusing little comments with graphics that poke a bit of fun at our business—especially people who don’t take Dangerous Goods as seriously as they should.
What do you do with them?
Just select your favorite card and click on the link to share it. Add your own comment and off it goes to your Twitter feed. Then you can sit back and enjoy your after-work UN 3065.
Share your idea in the comments below, and maybe we’ll include it in the next batch of DG eCards.
Make sure your shipments are safe and in full compliance, with a full line of solutions from Labelmaster—a full-service provider of goods and services for hazardous materials and Dangerous Goods professionals, shippers, transport operators and EH&S providers.
The Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) provides essential guidance for handling hazardous materials transportation incidents.
It’s the official hazmat book used by first responders and hazmat professionals worldwide, and DOT 49 CFR172.602 requires anyone who handles or transfers dangerous goods to have emergency response information immediately available.
The ERG is updated every 4 years and now is the best time to place your order.
March is the month spring begins, and spring often brings unsettled weather. Now’s a great time to begin considering your company’s severe weather safety plans if heavy weather is a factor where your business operates. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at the week’s regulatory news:
EU ADR
The EU ADR is Europe’s set of regulations that govern road transport of dangerous goods in the EU. It is revised every two years, with the 2025 version currently in force. A new set of proposed regulatory changes for the next edition in 2027 has been released. See the proposed revisions here:
The agency published an ICR related to its Formaldehyde Standard. The chemical is a hazardous one, and is often used in both industry and commercial applications. See the ICR here:
Labelmaster/DGEO is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
After last week’s harmonization news, this week was considerably less active, with the exception being the FMCSA. Here’s the latest news:
FMCSA
The agency amended the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to remove the grandfathering provision under the physical qualifications standards for interstate drivers operating under the vision waiver study program administered from 1992 through 1994, and the vision exemption program operated from 1998 through 2022, as the grandfathering provision is now obsolete. FMCSA’s current rules permit individuals who do not satisfy, with the worse eye, either the existing distant visual acuity standard with corrective lenses or the field of vision standard, or both, to be physically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce under specified conditions. Find the changed rule here:
The agency amended the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations (FMCSR) to allow dual-status military technicians to qualify for the exception for certain military personnel from commercial driver’s license (CDL) standards. Dual-status military technicians are civilian technicians employed by military units to provide day-to-day support such as training, maintenance, and other activities required to support the unit. See the rule here for full details:
FMCSA also clarified the requirement to complete a Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR). The DVIR may already be completed electronically, however the explicit language in this clarified rule will make this clear. See the rule below:
Labelmaster/DGEO is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
Differences between compliant and non-compliant labels and markings may be had to notice.
Shippers often complain about the hair-splitting differences spelled out by hazmat regulations. And while it’s true that a difference of a gram here or a millimeter there isn’t likely to make a shipment any less safe, regulations have to be exact, or there’s no point in enacting them.
Label regulations can seem especially persnickety. The difference between a compliant label and a cheaper, non-compliant label may be small and hard to notice, but you can bet your supply chain partners—and possibly DOT inspectors—will catch them.
Non-compliant labels will cost you more in the long run, due to fines and the cost of resending rejected shipments. But how do you spot them?
What makes these labels and markings non-compliant?
Below are six non-compliant labels and markings, side by side with their compliant Labelmaster counterparts. We’ve detailed the errors and inconsistencies that make these cheaper products non-compliant.
