Mid-October already—where does the time go? Hopefully, everyone is enjoying a pleasant fall season. As the cold weather begins, be sure your workplace is ready. Many businesses use this “not quite there yet” time to do things like make sure their snow removal vendors are contracted for the season, so if this impacts your operation, be sure not to forget! Here’s the week’s regulatory news:
PHMSA
The agency published a notice setting forth and requesting comments from the public and other interested parties on its policy proposals for the classification of articles containing hazardous materials used in vehicles, vessels, or aircraft to enhance safety to persons. These articles are described as ‘‘Safety devices, electrically initiated, Class 9” for purposes of transportation under the U.S. hazardous material regulations. The new proposal, seen in the link below, discusses the potential for allowing a broadening of the category to permit certain other sub-components of such systems to themselves bear the designation. Comments must be received by November 14, 2022. See all the details here:
The agency also published another round of Special Permit actions. As per usual, many of the actions related to batteries, cylinders, portable tanks, and special shipping permissions. Find details at the below links:
Trucking Industry Safety Blitz
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, in concert with federal inspectors, conducted a five-day safety inspection blitz last June. The unannounced action resulted in many truckers being cited for numerous hazmat safety violations—around 1700. The largest number of violations were associated with incorrect shipping papers—that’s something that the shippers gave to the carrier. A large variety of packaging violations made up the second largest group of violations, with safety marks (think placards and labels) taking third place. Loading, securement, and training issues made up the bulk of the rest of the citations issued. This all speaks to the need for both shippers and carriers to take a hard look at their DG operations and ensure they are both offering compliant ladings and then carrying such ladings in a compliant manner as well. See the link below for further information and details on the results of the blitz:
CVSA hazmat blitz nets over 1,700 violations | FleetOwner
Labelmaster 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.
