The summer season kicks off with a slightly elevated level of regulatory action, including interesting interpretations from PHMSA. Meanwhile, it’s time to start planning for the warm season at your company. Are you ready with a plan to mitigate the risk of heat related illness for your employees? Proactive is far better than reactive for such serious circumstances, so give it some thought before the really hot weather arrives! Here’s the latest:
PHMSA
- The agency released an interpretation clarifying that CDL drivers carrying non-placardable amounts of Class 9 non-bulk materials (recall that non-bulk Class 9 is placard exempt by road in the US) are not subject to the license endorsement requirement. Bulk drivers remain impacted. See the letter here
- A second letter allows for the use of wider tape to be used on spec packages than that called for in closure instructions, provided the tape is of the same type. Note that narrower tape is NOT allowed as a substitute! Here’s the interpretation
- A third and final interpretation sets forth the status of the UN number splits surrounding engines in the 49 CFR and the associated requirements for the provision of emergency response information. There has been a certain amount of confusion over US adherence to the international harmonization. PHMSA gives reassurance that the US will follow suit. See the letter here
U.S. EPA
The agency provided a new portal to allow for attendance at its webinar series explaining the changing hazardous waste manifest requirements. New rules go into effect on June 30th. Are you ready? EPA can help you figure it out; here’s your way to learn more
OSHA
The agency announced a limited extension of required compliance dates for general industry to meet the new beryllium standard. New dates can be used if certain conditions of safety are met. See the extensions here
Australia Dangerous Goods Code
Australia has released the text of the proposed “Edition 7.6” of the antipodal nation’s dangerous goods code. Australia’s regulations can be loosely described as being a sort of mash-up of the familiar EU ADR along with certain amendments to accommodate local conditions and preferences. If you ship DG to Australia, you may want to preview what’s on the way from down under. Here’s your link
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