Here we are at the end of the month. As I write this blog, a very large tornado outbreak has been taking place across the Midwest and Great Plains. I hope all of our blog readers are safe. It’s also a great reminder that the threat of severe and even deadly weather is especially prevalent in many areas at this time of the year. If your workplace or home is located in places where this type of weather is a threat, be sure you have a plan in place to respond and stay safe if severe weather happens. Here’s the week’s news, which includes a rare update to the IATA DGR:

IATA

The Association has published an Addendum to the 65^th Edition of the DGR; the first in some time. Some highlights include:

• Amended State Variations for Argentina
• A large variety of revised Operator Limitations for many carriers, including some notable changes to FedEx’s acceptance, test, and shipping paper requirements in limitations FX-02, FX-03, FX-04, and FX-08. As one might have guessed, this does include some changes to lithium battery carriage
• A change to Section 8 shipping paper requirements that deal with organic peroxides that have prior approvals needed. Such approvals must now be attached to the shipping paper
• Revisions in Appendices D and F updating contact information for various competent authorities

The above represents only a summary of the more notable changes, especially with regard to operator limitations, so be sure to have a look at the addendum itself and see what else might be present that may affect your operations. Find the addendum here.

PHMSA

The agency announced that its Office of Hazardous Materials Safety will host three public meetings during 2024 in advance of certain international meetings:

• The first meeting will be held in preparation of the 64th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG) scheduled for June 24– July 3, 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The second meeting will be held in preparation of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP) Working Group 24 (WG/24) tentatively scheduled for October 2024 in Montreal, Canada.
• The third meeting will be held in preparation of the 65th session of the UNSCOE TDG scheduled for November 25–December 3, 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland.

For each of these meetings, PHMSA will solicit public input on current proposals. Each public meeting will take place approximately two weeks preceding the international meeting at DOT Headquarters, West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590–0001. A remote participation option will also be available. Specific information for each meeting will be posted when available on the PHMSA website. Find more details here.

EPA

The agency is publishing an ICR related to the reconditioning of drums used to store and transport hazardous waste. Such drums are specification packagings. See the ICR here.

USPS

The Postal Service is amending Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual to require the use of USPS Ship^TM (aka Package Platform) for the acceptance and payment of all commercial domestic and international parcel mailings and discontinue the use of the Electronic Verification System. Effective Date: February 1, 2025. See the full rule here.

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