Why device manufacturers must build compliance into their R&D When your product runs on lithium batteries, it isn’t enough to comply with current regulations. Your survival may depend on how well you anticipate future restrictions. Bluesmart learned that lesson the hard way. Earlier this month, the maker of “smart” luggage had to shut down due…
PHMSA publishes proposed upcoming regulatory agenda
The US government’s Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, recently published the projected regulatory agenda that PHMSA intends to pursue over the next six months. Federal agencies typically publish their agendas on a semiannual basis as an indicator of the priorities they envision working on. Such activities will be published in the Federal Register…
Share your opinion—take our annual Dangerous Goods Confidence survey
Labelmaster, Hazardous Cargo Bulletin (HCB) and IATA partner to create the 2018 Dangerous Goods Confidence Outlook How do you keep up with changing hazmat regulations? How current are your DG shipping technology and infrastructure? And how severe should enforcement of hazmat violations be? Share your opinions about these issues—and many others—with the entire DG community!…
Hazmat experts agree—it’s time to sign up for the Dangerous Goods Symposium!
Register today! Rates go up April 1. September seems a long way off, doesn’t it? We in the Midwest are still digging out from our biggest snowfall in a couple of years, and major league baseball players are only just reporting to spring training this week. But it’s not too soon to talk about September,…
Hazmat hopes: A 2018 wish list from top Dangerous Goods professionals
Last November, we asked our readers a simple question: What’s your biggest wish for 2018 in the entire Dangerous Goods galaxy? What regulation would you change? What stress-inducing process would you simplify? What one thing would you change to make your job easier—and the world safer? DG pros from all over responded, with wishes ranging…
Fall meetings highlight changes in Dangerous Goods air transport
The fall season in odd-numbered years has traditionally been a busy time for people who handle Dangerous Goods by air, and 2017 was no exception. Consider this timetable: Labelmaster’s 12th Dangerous Goods Symposium, Chicago, Sept. 6–8 IATA’s Dangerous Goods Board, 111th meeting in Brussels, Sept. 18–21 IATA’s Lithium Battery Seminar in Barcelona, Oct. 3–5 ICAO’s…
DG Digest: PHMSA Seeks Input for U.N. Geneva Meeting and USPS Revises Lithium Battery Rules
The end of July finds the Federal Register having roared back to life after a period of relative quiet; most of the action revolves around information requests versus rulemaking, but still, given how slow things have been in the US regulatory world, the activity is significant. See all the action below. PHMSA The nation’s DG…
DG Digest: ICAO releases variations, U.S. exploring cabin laptop ban, and OSHA issues comment period on scissor lifts
As we roll towards the end of May and the beginning of summer, regulatory activity continues at a slower pace than had characterized the previous several years as federal agencies retool to meet the new administration’s much reduced focus on the subject. How will that play out long term? Stick with our weekly blog, and…
US Updates ICAO TI Variations
One of the missing pieces in the HM215-N update was a provision to allow for the carriage by air of UN 3528 and UN 3529. (Flammable liquid and flammable gas powered engines). With the publication of the latest edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, the classification…
Proposed laptop carry-on ban may put far more passengers in danger
Plans to ban laptops and tablets from the cabins of flights from Europe were put on hold when the European Union decided against implementation on May 17. But the ban remains in place for flights from eight Middle Eastern countries, and we persist in our opinion opposing it. By Neil McCulloch The proposed ban on…