As Labelmaster Staff Regulatory Specialist Nikki Burgess reported a couple of weeks back, many federal agencies recently raised their civil penalties about 2.5% for Dangerous Goods regulatory citations. In other words, any compliance errors you make will now cost you a little more. Update! On October 29, 2019, penalties at many agencies were increased an…
2018 Dangerous Goods Symposium speaker Dave Brennan on IATA and innovation
Dave Brennan, Assistant Director of Cargo Safety & Standards at International Air Transport Association, will share updates from IATA during the 13th annual Dangerous Goods Symposium, September 5–7, 2018, in Rosemont, Illinois. Longtime IATA veteran Dave Brennan says, “It’s been one of the quieter years for updates.” Yet even in a quiet year, he…
Dangerous Goods Symposium Day 3—Lithium Battery Day
Day 3 of the Dangerous Goods Symposium has, for the last few years, been known as “Lithium Battery Day.” It’s only a half day, but the always-vigorous discussion panel gives the 300 DG pros in attendance a full day’s worth of information to digest. We’ll get to highlights of today’s panel in a minute. But…
Dangerous Goods Symposium Day 2—Dang Good Training
“We abbreviate’ hazardous materials’ to ‘hazmat,’” said Gene Sanders, kicking off Day 2 of the 2017 Dangerous Goods Symposium. “I say we shorten ‘Dangerous Goods training’ to ‘Dang Good training.’” Sanders, co-founder of W. E. Train Consulting, gave the 300 DG pros on hand an entertaining look at an assortment of horrific explosions, spills and…
Dangerous Goods Symposium Day 1—Why aren’t DG pros more confident?
At 8 a.m. on a clear September day, Chicago’s historic Drake Hotel looks out over Lake Michigan waters still sparkling from the sunrise. But a different sort of outlook drew the focus of the Dangerous Goods professionals assembled for the 12th annual Dangerous Goods Symposium—a view that was far more serious. Day 1 of the…
ICAO imposes first-ever charge limit on lithium battery shipments, effective April 1
ICAO has published its much anticipated addendum highlighting additional consignment conditions for the transport of lithium batteries. The ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel considered that these would significantly improve the already high-level of safety of these shipments and it would be prudent to have them in place as soon as possible. As a result, the ICAO addendum…
DG Digest: FMCSA lowers truckers’ substance test rates, will hold FAST sessions; FRA begins PTC data collection
December 24: FMCSA cuts random truckers’ testing rate for substance abuse to 25%. Good news for truck drivers and carriers—the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has cut the random testing rate for substance abuse in half, from 50% to 25%. This should produce a nice savings for carriers,…
IATA Lithium Battery workshop concludes; undeclared and non-compliant shipments pose biggest risks
Last week, I was part of the Labelmaster team that attended the Lithium Battery workshop hosted by IATA in Montreal. For those of us who’ve been following the twists and turns of the regulations governing the air transport of lithium batteries, we might be forgiven for thinking there would be nothing new to see and…
New DOT/PHMSA Interpretation Brings Some Clarity to the Lithium Ion Watts Issue
In a formal Letter of Interpretation dated August 19th, 2015 to Mr. Mike Revis USDOT/PHMSA stated categorically that a Lithium Ion Battery being shipped under the exceptions granted in 49 CFR 173.185(c) may have cells which feature watt hour ratings greater than 20 watt hours as long as the battery itself remains less than one…
When You Violate DG Shipping Regulations, Fines Can Stack Up
Having mislabeled or incorrectly marked cargo could mean delayed shipments and fines from violations. And with ever-changing rules and regulations, things can get complicated. We can help. We have complied a list of seven types of common violations and how you can avoid them: www.labelmaster.com/common-violations