Welcome to April! As we pass into the heart of the Spring season, hopefully everyone is ramping up their efforts to help employees stay safe and get vaccinated if they choose to do so. Let’s all keeping working together to end this pandemic and get our nation back on track. The week featured some significant…
DG Digest: PHMSA issues enforcement notice regarding ICAO Technical Instructions and IMDG Code
As we move into the first full week of October, it’s good to note that across much of the country, this week is Fire Prevention Week. While all of us are concerned with the ongoing pandemic and responses to it, we should all bear in mind that all of the other, and more typical hazards…
DG Digest: U.S. Agencies Publish Semi-annual Agendas & We Preview the 2021 Early 49 CFR
The end of August brings us to the transition to the autumn and in particular the coming Labor Day holiday. With this year’s pandemic still weighing so heavily on our nation, let’s all remember to enjoy that holiday in accordance with the recommendations of our health experts. Employees may be planning their weekends too, and can…
PHMSA Issues Hazmat Shipping Paper Guidance During COVID-19 Social Distancing
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a guidance document addressing the transfer of hazardous material shipping papers during the current COVID-19 pandemic. PHMSA has received many questions related to the transfer of shipping papers between shippers and carriers, and the difficulties with maintaining…
DG Digest: DOT announces $1 billion in infrastructure grants
The first week in March finds the nation confronting a potentially serious health threat in the form of the new COVD-19 coronavirus. The biggest positive actions we as regulatory and EHS professionals can take to help our fellow employees is to encourage everyone to not panic, and to employ common sense precautions like thorough hand…
The hazmat pro’s guide to Game of Thrones, Season 8
At last, the moment for which hazmat pros have waited untold winters! The final season of Game of Thrones starts Sunday. Everyone in the Dangerous Goods galaxy knows Game of Thrones is really about hazmat transport. For all its swordplay, palace intrigue and dragons, the show addresses the same issues hazmat pros deal with every…
Hazmat hopes 2019: Top Dangerous Goods professionals share their wishes
Work in Dangerous Goods long enough, and you may find yourself wishing things were different. Couldn’t that new IATA regulation be worded more clearly? Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to explain Limited Quantities to your customer—for the third time? And how exactly does a 2mm-thick label border make a hazmat shipment safer?…
DG Digest: DOT, EPA and Other Agencies Set Semi-Annual Priorities
It’s the week prior to the Labor Day holiday in the United States; regulatory activity is slow as most of official Washington lingers in the August recess and vacation period soon to close out. Meanwhile our thoughts are with those affected by Hurricane Harvey, and the emergency responders who are assisting them. Here’s the latest…
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…
What every hazmat shipper should know about tagboard hazmat placards
Lightweight, durable tagboard hazmat placards keep Dangerous Goods shipments compliant at a fraction of the cost of permanent vinyl placards. With Labelmaster’s huge selection of tagboard placards now sharply discounted (for a limited time only), we’ve been getting lots of good questions about them. (Also some weird ones, but we’re used to that.) Here are…