If you or your company generate or handle hazardous waste, you should be aware by now that the EPA will launch their new e-Manifest system on June 30, 2018 (only 15 days away!). The e-Manifest system is a national system to track hazardous waste electronically, and will eventually completely replace paper manifests. For at least…
PHMSA publishes proposed upcoming regulatory agenda
The US government’s Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, recently published the projected regulatory agenda that PHMSA intends to pursue over the next six months. Federal agencies typically publish their agendas on a semiannual basis as an indicator of the priorities they envision working on. Such activities will be published in the Federal Register…
Hazmat hopes: A 2018 wish list from top Dangerous Goods professionals
Last November, we asked our readers a simple question: What’s your biggest wish for 2018 in the entire Dangerous Goods galaxy? What regulation would you change? What stress-inducing process would you simplify? What one thing would you change to make your job easier—and the world safer? DG pros from all over responded, with wishes ranging…
DG Digest: PHMSA Names a New Deputy Administrator; FRA and FMCSA Withdraw Sleep Apnea Standards
August is the month that Washington, DC takes off. Congress is not in session and many officials get of town—the city is famous for its humid and uncomfortable August weather. However, despite this the last week was fairly busy on the regulatory front, with a number of agencies announcing relevant action. Here’s the update: PHMSA…
US Updates ICAO TI Variations
One of the missing pieces in the HM215-N update was a provision to allow for the carriage by air of UN 3528 and UN 3529. (Flammable liquid and flammable gas powered engines). With the publication of the latest edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, the classification…
In The News: Safety Woes can be Major Bad News
No company wants to suffer safety problems. Worker injuries, illnesses, and in some tragic cases, fatalities, impact employees and their families in what can be devastating ways. Such incidents also negatively impact the morale of the workforce, cause loss of production, and force the expenditure of unplanned time and fiscal resources to mitigate. They can…
Trump Freezes PHMSA HM-215N: The Impact on Lithium Battery Shippers
We mentioned in our January 30th DG Digest blog that the anticipated PHMSA HM-215N Final Rule was withdrawn as a result of President Trump’s executive memoranda that put a freeze on all new regulations. Here’s some additional information on how this temporarily impacts lithium battery shippers. As you know, the HM-215N Final Rule would have…
Flying over the holidays? Don’t be human hazmat!
When you think about it, it’s amazing that we think nothing about flying thousands of miles to visit friends and family over the holidays. Flying is relatively inexpensive if you plan in advance, and—despite the airport crowds and potential weather delays—rarely qualifies as any kind of adventure. Beyond that, flying is also tremendously safe. In fact,…
Hazmat tax? California’s new levy on local rail carriers draws ire (and lawsuits)
Ever since the Lac Megantic derailment disaster in 2013, North American rail carriers have been engaged in a running administrative battle with assorted local municipalities that have tried, so far without success, to impose local taxes or fees on the carriage of dangerous goods over the railroads that pass through their communities. This is an…
Lithium battery enforcement: A level playing field will boost safety immediately
Neil McCulloch contributed to this article. Monday’s press release from IATA, highlighting the problems and implications of non-enforcement of existing lithium battery shipping regulations, is both salutary and discouraging. Salutary, because we’ve long been on record as saying that comprehensive enforcement of existing regulations would have a larger impact on safety than enacting new regulations. Many other…